


Father of the Bride

by LVB



Series: The Fathers and Smugglers Series [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-02
Updated: 2015-07-02
Packaged: 2018-04-07 07:00:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 20,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4253847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LVB/pseuds/LVB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. Anakin Skywalker and family are invited to Alderaan for an announcement. What happens when the announcement involves wedding bells and a mystery groom? Sequel to Meet the Skywalkers and part of the Fathers and Smugglers series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: George is the owner of all things SW Side note: NOW SO IS DISNEY!. Some ideas also borrowed from Dave Wolverton. The point is, I don’t own!

Anakin Skywalker was a happy man. In fact, life had improved drastically for the Jedi Master. Luke had successfully completed his Jedi Trials and was one of the most powerful Jedi Knights in the Order. Luke had shown greater potential than even Anakin at that age. Obi-Wan was impressed.

 

Leia Skywalker-Organa had also taken up Bail’s role in the Senate on a more official level. For the first year she had only accompanied him on the Senate pods and listened to the meetings. Years of political training and a Chancellor for a mother had prepared her well. There was only a slight disapproval regarding Leia’s position but it was quickly overruled.

 

Because technically Leia was an Organa. Which apparently solved many legal problems that annoyed senators couldn’t overrule. This pleased Anakin immensely.

 

Over the past few years, Anakin had learned to accept that his twins were no longer children in need of his protection. Luke had gone on a Jedi mission to Dagobah a couple of years ago in order to do some ‘soul searching’. Anakin hadn’t even known he was gone until Obi-Wan told him. It had taken Obi-Wan a full hour to reassure Anakin that Luke was going to be fine.

 

Despite his best intentions, Anakin still kept track of Luke’s activities. Especially on the romance front. Since the Council had relaxed the rules regarding ‘attachment’ significantly, it was entirely possible that Luke could bring home someone to meet the parents. Much like his twin had a few years earlier.

 

It was now common knowledge over the galaxy that Leia Skywalker-Organa was involved with the rascal Han Solo. He and Padmè had now gotten used to viewing the HoloNews and seeing various reports on the young couple. In a way, at least Anakin was glad that the whole galaxy would be keeping an eye on them in public, when Anakin couldn’t. At least there wouldn’t be any funny business.

 

Not yet, anyway.

 

Anakin had significantly warmed up to Han over time. They still had their moments, such as when Anakin had purposely allowed Threepio to take ALL of Han’s clothing away for dry-cleaning the day Han had decided to sleep naked. That had been funny.

 

Or the time Han had left his racy Sabacc cards in Anakin and Padmè’s bedroom, resulting in Anakin having to sleep on the couch for a week.

 

But other than that, the two got along for Leia’s sake. And more than that, they had begun to develop a bond similar to a father and son-in-law bond. At least it didn’t result in petty games and challenges, like their first encounter.

 

So in short, life was good for the Skywalkers. That is, until one weekend when Bail Organa invited the Skywalker clan to Alderaan to make an announcement.  


	2. The Invitation

Anakin sank back into his favourite chair in Padmè’s official apartment in Coruscant. He had just come back from teaching at the Temple. Being surrounded by ten-year-olds with lightsabers had proved quite a challenge, even for the grand Jedi Master himself. Although the sabers had been set to ‘stun’, that didn’t stop the little ones from repeatedly attacking Anakin’s legs.

 

He had reprimanded them for un-Jedi like behaviour, while trying to ignore the fact he did the exact same thing to Obi-Wan when _he_ was an annoying padawan. The memory brought a smile to his face. Sighing, he put his feet up and closed his eyes.

 

Peace and quiet. Or so he thought.

 

“Excuse me, Master Anakin.”

 

Once again, Anakin nearly jumped five feet in the air. He could sense just about anybody sneaking up on him with those finely tuned Jedi skills, but when it came to overbearing protocol droids that preferred wearing aprons when cooking, it was something else entirely.

 

“What is it now, Threepio? Artoo make fun of your pink apron again?” Anakin snickered, eyeing the pink frilly apron Threepio was currently wearing. Unfortunately, the humour was lost on the droid.

 

“Not as such, Master Anakin. It seems there is a holo message waiting to be answered in Mistress Padmè’s office. Artoo was wondering, since the Mistress was out on business, if you would like to take the message?”

 

In any other circumstance, Anakin would have agreed immediately. But he was so comfy in his chair…

 

“Can’t you do it, Threepio?” he asked.

 

Anakin swore he heard Threepio cuss under his breath. “I beg your pardon, Master Anakin. I am in the middle of making your dinner. I slave away in the kitchen all day and…”

 

“Threepio…” Anakin interrupted, his tone promising more circuitry harm if he continued. “Just do it without the melodrama.”

 

With a swift nod, the droid trotted off to take the message for his wife. Whoever it was could wait to speak to Chancellor Skywalker herself. Anakin was not a messenger service.

 

He could hear Threepio talking in the office not too far away from the living area. _Why_ he had created Threepio with such an annoying butler-like personality was beyond him. He was mostly useful, but sometimes Anakin felt like letting Han fulfil his promise to “blow up that smart-mouthed, pestering, goldenrod droid”.

 

Anakin grinned as he leaned back and enjoyed the imagery. It kept him entertained for a few moments until the droid returned again. “Master Anakin,” he began.

 

Rolling his eyes, Anakin sat up straight and looked right into the droid’s mechanical ones. “What. Is. It. Threepio?”

 

“They say the message is quite urgent and they wish to speak with you. It seems they are not taking no for an answer.”

 

Who in their right mind would be harassing the apartment of the great Galactic Skywalker clan?

 

Did they not know of the saying; _Let Sleeping Jedi Lie_?

 

Well, whoever they were had better have a good reason. “Who is it, Threepio?”

 

“I do believe the signal has the encryption pattern of the House of Organa from Alderaan”

 

Anakin was out of his seat like a flash of lightning. “Why didn’t you say so!?”

 

He took a deep breath. Yelling at the poor droid wasn’t the best idea. He couldn’t really defend himself. It would be too easy. Yelling was best saved for those who could yell back enough to entertain Anakin. Like Han.

 

Anakin finally made it into the office and switched on the holo. The clear image of Bail Organa appeared on the screen.

 

“Nice of you to finally answer the holo, Master Skywalker,” came the sharp yet light-hearted reply. Anakin took a moment to look at his friend. He had aged well.

 

“You know how it is, Your Majesty. You put your feet up, your droid makes you dinner and when your wife’s not around you can’t be bothered answering the holo anymore.”

 

Bail chuckled at the odd sense of humour of Anakin Skywalker.

 

“Everything’s alright? Nothing’s wrong with Leia?” Anakin asked, studying the features of his comrade.

 

“No, it’s nothing like that. I just wanted to ask you something in person, that’s all.”

 

Anakin raised his eyebrow. “Go on.”

 

Bail cleared his throat. “Alderaan is hosting a formal dinner in celebration of Leia’s settlement of the Cortane Sector Peace Trade Treaty. Padmè has received the official invitation today for the Skywalker clan, but I thought I’d invite you here a few days early for the celebration. If your schedules permit, of course.”

 

“I’ll have to speak to Padmè first, Your Highness, but I’m sure it can be arranged.” Anakin paused momentarily. Should he ask?

 

“Bail…will Han be invited to this event? Because if so, I’ll have to give him a couple of lessons on how to properly behave at Republic Functions.”

 

If Bail hadn’t grown up with refined manners, he would have snorted. He’d met the infamous Han Solo and was surprised Anakin approved of the man at all. He had quite the rough tongue on him. The image of Han conversing with the numerous Republic officials scared him.

 

But the details of what he really wanted to talk to Anakin and Padmè about were a little too sensitive for Han’s ears. It would be a delicate situation- but Leia would never forgive any of them if he wasn’t allowed to come.

 

So Bail remembered his politeness.

 

“Of course Han is invited. But he isn’t required to come early.”

 

Anakin sighed, full of relief. “Thank you, Your Highness. Goodbye.”

 

His Jedi senses told him that Bail Organa was acting suspiciously. And for some reason, he was sure it had something to do with Han Solo. Not one to sit back and do nothing, Anakin immediately dialled a familiar holo code. He was going to try to do this the polite way.

 

 

_The Handbook of Jedi Politeness_

 

_When comrades and family friends begin acting suspiciously, it is always due to an outside source, usually influences that are tall, have shaggy hair, a distinct Corellian smell and a fascination for wooing intelligent brunettes and annoying the hell out of their fathers._

 

Within moments, he was connected.

 

 

 

 


	3. Connected

 

The cocky face of Han Solo appeared on the large holo projector.

 

“You’ve reached the great Han Solo. I’m busy now, most likely scamming someone outta their credits. If it’s you, or I happen to owe _you_ credits, you got no chance in seven Sith pits. If you’re an old acquaintance, you owe me credits. If you’re from the _Bank of Coruscant_ , I’ve paid the credits. If you’re Lando, I told you, I’m not giving you the ship back. I don’t care how many chicks you promised. If you’re Threepio, tell Anakin to get off his lazy Jedi butt and call me himself.”

 

Anakin rolled his eyes at the exceptionally pathetic answering message and cleared his throat.

 

“Solo, if you’re there, come to the holo projector. No? Oh well, then I’m not sure where all these spare credits I owe you from our last game of Sabacc are going to g…”

 

The image began to move as it fixed on the _real_ Han Solo. His hair was messed up considerably and his clothes sat at an awkward angle. It was as if he had dressed in a hurry.

 

“Am I interrupting you, Solo?”

 

There was a quick grunt as Han tried to brush back his hair and adjust his shirt. “Not at all, Paps. I was just taking care of some…unfinished business.”

 

Han had a cocky grin on his face again. In the background, Anakin heard a voice, a very familiar voice. It was slightly muffled, but he heard it all the same.

 

“Come back to bed, Han!”

 

It was Leia!

 

_Things You Don’t Need to Know About Your Daughter_

 

  1. _the fact that she is_ _ **old enough**_ _to be having sex_

  2. _the fact that she is_ _ **having**_ _sex_

  3. _the fact that she is having sex this very_ _ **minute**_

  4. _the fact that she was currently beckoning Han Solo to join her again in bed_




 

Anakin felt sick for a fleeting moment. He watched in horror as Han turned around and he heard him scream, “Not now, Leia. I’m getting a holo from your Dad!” Han seemed to be enjoying this.

 

“What’s the matter, Paps? Wookiee got your tongue?” Han asked, holding back his laughter at the view of the grand Anakin Skywalker. He had obviously figured out _exactly_ what he and Leia had been up to. He had to give the old man credit though; he was handling it pretty well.

 

However, the bluish hologram obviously concealed the fact that Anakin Skywalker’s face was now an alarming shade of red, crossed between shock, anger and pure embarrassment.

 

“Maybe I should connect back later…when you two have,” Anakin averted his eyes. “Organised yourselves.” The last part was muttered through gritted teeth.

 

“Nah, don’t worry about it. What did you need that was so urgent?”

 

Anakin felt the urge to wipe that smug, know-it-all look off Han’s face. He was purposely baiting him now. Why on Kessel he would purposely endeavour to annoy him escaped Anakin right now. Not only was he not trying to hide the fact that only moments ago, he was doing all sorts of unholy things to his only daughter, Han Solo was rubbing his _face_ in it!

What he wouldn’t give to be a Dark Lord of the Sith right about now. He could think of many ways to wipe that smug grin off his face, namely involving an unconscious Han and a carbonite freezing chamber.

 

Knowing that unfortunately wasn’t an option, he continued. “We’ve been invited to a gala dinner in celebration for Leia.”

 

_Although I’m sure you’ve been celebrating Leia enough already, you overgrown space monkey._

 

“And His Highness Bail Organa has extended an invitation to you.”

 

Han nodded in recognition. “Yeah, Leia’s already _extended_ the invitation to me.” He grinned slyly, making Anakin’s face turn even redder.

 

Uncomfortably, Anakin cleared his throat. He wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to control himself. The best option, besides going into a Force rage and killing the man who was seducing his only daughter, was to just disconnect. He could then take out his anger on Padmé’s office or even Threepio. The last idea had even more merit.

 

But unfortunately, fate wasn’t on the side of Anakin Skywalker. In fact, it seemed to be a strange twist of the Force because within moments, not only was he facing Han Solo, but he was also facing Senator Leia Skywalker-Organa.

 

“Dad! What a surprise…”

 

Anakin was sure that was supposed to be his line. Something along the lines of _‘Leia, what a surprise to see you off duty and losing your innocence to a space pirate’_ seemed a little more relevant.

 

“Hello, Leia. I’m sorry I interrupted you two. I was just telling Han about…”

 

“The dinner party,” finished Leia for her father. “It’s not a problem, Dad. I’ve taken care of everything. I sent it all to the office. You just have to make sure you’re actually there _on_ _time_.”

 

“In all fairness, that only happened once. And it had all been Obi-Wan’s fault. Honestly. He wanted to go out and then I couldn’t tear him away from the bar…”

 

Han sighed, obviously annoyed. “Not interested about the old man. Nice to hear from you Paps, but Leia and I are busy right now. Guess we’ll see you at the dinner. Solo out!”

 

And with that, he disconnected the call. Dumbfounded, Anakin just stared at the holo. Had Han Solo just disconnected on him? He had.

 

Suddenly, Anakin felt a headache coming on. In a few days he’d be on Alderaan, and then maybe there was a small chance he could relax…but a nagging feeling at the back of his head warned him that this weekend would probably make his headache grow.

 

Defeated, Anakin Skywalker left the office in search for Threepio, vowing to make good on his previous threats to the poor droid.

 

_Techniques Used to Deal With Anger by Anakin Skywalker_

 

_1\. If your daughter has run away with a scoundrel, this feeling will probably leave you with a bucketful of rage and a headache the size of a bantha. In times like this, reprogramming your annoying, gold plated protocol droid is a great outlet for anger. Start by slowly taking him apart piece by piece, and then put him back incorrectly. Add one pink frilly apron for final touch and threaten to sell him on the Black Coruscant Market or sell him to the Hutts. This should make you feel immensely better._

 

 


	4. Moral Support

“I cannot believe you managed to talk me into this. I must completely insane,” muttered Obi-Wan.

 

“Cheer up, Master. At least the drinks will be free,” Anakin replied and playfully slapped Obi-Wan on the back. Ever since Anakin had been a young Padawan, he had noticed Obi-Wan’s very strange drinking habits. While the occasional alcoholic beverage was permitted at the various Republic functions, Obi-Wan seemed to always come back to their Temple quarters slightly intoxicated.

 

Obi-Wan mumbled something again which suspiciously sounded like _‘I have a bad feeling about this’_.

 

“Come on, Obi-Wan. I need you there for moral support. I need you there to make sure I don’t Force-avalanche the entire Alderaanian landscape on Han Solo’s head!”

 

This earned a chuckle from the old Jedi Master. “Touche. But was it really necessary for me to come to this meeting with Prince Consort Organa? Really Anakin, you’re a Jedi Master now, you don’t need me trying to keep you out of trouble,” Obi-Wan pointed out, clearly showing his annoyance.

 

“Politicians scare me,” Anakin stated simply, which was welcomed by a very un-Jedi- like snort.

 

“You married the Chancellor of the Republic, Anakin. You have children with her. Your daughter is the Senator of Alderaan. Your future son-in-law is Han Solo. What do you have to be afraid of?”

 

The look of shock and horror upon Anakin’s face was priceless and nearly sent Obi-Wan into a fit of laughter that was very unbecoming for a Jedi Master.

 

“Obi-Wan, do not ever, EVER, refer to that title again. Han Solo is NOT and will NEVER be my son-in-law. The Force would never be that cruel…would it?”

 

Obi-Wan shrugged. “The Force works in mysterious ways, Anakin. Leia is a big girl and can take care of herself. She’s a calm, rational woman. And she’s also half a Skywalker.”

 

_Skywalker_

_Descendents from the Skywalker bloodline will often inherit genetic attributes and flaws. While initially thought to skip a generation, it has been determined that the overwhelming irrational and spontaneous behaviour found in Anakin Skywalker is a trait that is found in all Skywalker bloodlines. Therefore, it is established that the kin of Anakin Skywalker will also suffer from mood swings, whining, clumsiness and extreme stupidity at one point in their lives, not to mention uncontrollable anger and a tendency to Force-choke at inappropriate moments._

 

Anakin sighed. “I suppose you’re right, Master. I’ll just have to trust that Leia is more Naberrie than Skywalker at heart.”

 

_Naberrie_

 

_While Naberrie women appear cool, calm and collected at all times and have a passionate political streak within them, it is inherent in their genetic makeup to fall for smart, wise-cracking and overwhelmingly stubborn men, with a tendency to let their mouths run away with them at any given moment._

 

Obi-Wan wisely chose to keep his mouth shut. “Come on, Anakin. Padmé and Bail must be waiting for us. Let’s go in and face the political babble.”

 

\--

 

Moments later, Obi-Wan and Anakin found themselves seated in the luxurious Alderaanian palace throne room. The two Jedi looked uncomfortable as they usually opted to stand at such gatherings. Padmé sat between them, looking very regal and professional in her senatorial clothes. Bail and his wife sat on the other side of the large wooden desk. The scene reminded Anakin of the Naboo throne room, which was quite similar.

 

“We’re glad you came early, Chancellor” spoke the Queen, politely nodding to her two Jedi companions. After a while Anakin fought the urge to yawn …surely the meeting wouldn’t go on for much longer?

 

 _Shield your thoughts, Anakin_ spoke a firm voice in his mind. _Your boredom is projecting all the way to Coruscant right now! What kind of example are you setting?_

 

Despite Obi-Wan’s cajoling, Anakin couldn’t help it. He was no politician.

 

For a while, simple politics were thrown around the room. Even Obi-Wan had some input. Just when Anakin thought he was going to fall asleep, Bail finally spoke up about his _real_ reason for dragging them here.

 

“Leia is turning out to be a fine young woman, Anakin. She’s a shrewd politician and not much gets by her. You ought to be proud.”

 

Anakin beamed. Finally, a topic he could contribute to. “She’s a beautiful and intelligent young woman that Leia Skywalker…Organa,” he said proudly, nearly forgetting the second half of his daughter’s last name.

 

“She’s brought much happiness back to the palace, I can assure you both. She is fantastic with the diplomats and ambassadors that pass through here. She’s a vibrant young woman. And that’s what we wanted to discuss with you,” Breha added.

 

Anakin was puzzled and looked at his wife for some notion of what on Kessel Bail was talking about.

 

“What do you mean, Your Highness?” she asked, her voice barely concealing her maternal worrying streak.

 

Bail cleared his throat uncomfortably. “We know Leia is old enough to take care of herself and make her own decisions. But as her parents, we thought it would be proper to take the matter through you directly…”

 

“Cut to the chase, Bail,” Anakin said, a little more sternly that he would have liked. When it came to his only daughter, there was no beating around any proverbial bushes.

 

“Very well. Chancellor, Master Jedi Skywalker, Prince Isolder of Hapes has formally asked the Royal House of Alderaan for Leia’s hand in marriage”

 

Time stopped momentarily.

 

_Techniques Used to Deal With Anger by Anakin Skywalker_

 

_2\. When confronted with difficult situations, such as being told that some pompous prince from some stupid planet nobody cares about wants to steal your only daughter, there is only one option. You must NOT turn to the Dark Side. Not only would it disappoint Obi-Wan, but Padmé probably wouldn’t be impressed either. Keep your lightsaber firmly away from any extremities and practice those ancient Jedi calming techniques Yoda forced you to do. Alternatively, you may utilize the ancient Jedi mind control technique, but be careful. You may be caught with red underpants again._


	5. Sensitive Issues

The room was silent for a few more moments. “Did you just say marriage?” demanded Anakin.

 

Obi-Wan and Padme exchanged a worried look. This was not going to go well. Bail noticed the interchange and diverted his eyes back to Anakin. He knew this would be difficult. He couldn’t even imagine if someone told _him_ that they wanted to marry off his only daughter. But there was Anakin, waiting for an answer, waiting for confirmation that what he had heard was true. Oh boy.

 

“Yes, Master Skywalker. Marriage.”

 

Anakin kept his focus. He needed to hear it again. “Marriage?” he repeated, his knuckles turning white from gripping the armrest.

 

Bail sighed. “Yes, marriage. He wants to marry Leia and make her the Queen of Hapes and ascend his mother’s position. He wants her as his wife.”

 

Marriage.

 

Leia.

 

Married.

 

Leia, his baby girl.

 

Married!

 

Words coursed through Anakin’s mind. He couldn’t even stop staring. Never in a million years had he expected this. He had only just caught Leia making smooches (he refused to call it anything else) with Han and now she was supposed to be getting married to some ostentatious prince who was a Momma’s boy? And she was to become a Queen?

 

“Forgive our abruptness on this matter,” apologised Breha, assuming her regal stance. “We can imagine the shock you must be feeling. But we thought it would be best to bring this matter directly to you. We didn’t think Leia would appreciate the situation entirely.”

 

 _You bet she wouldn’t,_ Anakin thought. _She would probably tell the guy to go and get…_

 

“The marriage would firm a great alliance between Alderaan and Hapes,” commented Padme.

 

A smile formed on Bail’s lips. “Precisely. One of Breha’s nieces even volunteered to become his wife, but I’m afraid he is smitten with our spirited princess.”

 

“The Trade Alliance between your planets would solve many problems in other worlds too,” reasoned Obi-Wan. “You could even stop the blaster dispute in the Yultanel System.”

 

“But nobody has spoken to Leia about this?” asked Padme, concerned for her daughter.

 

Both Bail and Breha shook their heads. “We were hoping the three of you could speak to her about it. We know she’s a sensible young woman. She _will_ make the right decision. There’s just a few…sensitive issues we don’t really want to bring up with her right now.”

 

By _sensitive issues_ , they all knew they meant Han. Since when had the space pirate become a _sensitive issue_?

 

“How long do we have before the Prince wants his answer?” asked Padme.

 

“Isolder wants his answer by this weekend. He’s hoping to announce their engagement at the function,” Breha answered.

 

Anakin sighed. Nothing had ever run smoothly when it came to his daughter and men. And now she was going to be possibly engaged at the end of the weekend. But that meant if Leia was going to become engaged to Prince Isolder of Hapes then Han Solo would be out of the picture for good. Brightening at this idea, Anakin smiled.

 

“Excuse me, Your Highness,” spoke a soft voice from the door. Everybody turned to face the young Alderaanian handmaiden. She bowed respectfully.

 

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’ve been asked to inform you that the Prince has just arrived at the spaceport. He’ll be here shortly.”

 

 _Perfect_ , Anakin thought, mentally rubbing his hands together in a conniving way. But what Anakin did not know was that the Force had a strange and twisted way of showing the lesson _better the devil you know_.

 

 

\----

 

Halfway across the galaxy, a very nervous Han Solo stood in front of the door of Jedi Luke Skywalker. He shifted and cursed a little too loudly, causing the two young padawans across the hall to glare at him. Shooting them a death glare, he refocused his attention back to the door.

 

 _Luke isn’t prone to Dark Side tantrums_ , he reasoned _. Calm down, Solo. You’ve beaten the old man at Sabacc with naked ladies on them before. This is nothing._

 

Grateful that Leia had left the day before, he had managed to fly to Coruscant in record time. He had made the Kessel run in 12 parsecs before, after all. He finally took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

 

Luke answered the door, a grin plastered on his face. “Han. I was wondering when you’d finally knock.”

 

Han shot him a death glare. “I told you, kid, to keep that Jedi hocus pocus crap outta my head!”

 

Luke laughed. “No, Han. I heard you talking to yourself. What can I do for you?”

 

Suddenly, the patch on the wall where Luke had once accidentally hit with his lightsaber looked mighty interesting. Luke followed Han’s gaze and not seeing anything of interest, raised his eyebrow.

 

“Han?”

 

He was welcomed with an incoherent mumble.

 

“Repeat that please, Han.”

 

A barely audible mumble followed, but Luke managed to pick up a few key words. Namely “marry” and “sister”.

 

Trying to keep a straight face, Luke put on his most menacing look and looked Han directly in the eye.

 

“Han Solo, are you asking permission to marry my sister?”

 

“Dammit Luke! YES! I want to ask Leia Skywalker-Organa to become Leia Skywalker-Organa-Solo!”

 

Silence filled the room.

 

Luke slapped Han affectionately on the back. “Welcome to the family.”

 

A sigh of relief passed through Han. However, his relief was only fleeting. He had forgotten the most important part of the task of asking the woman he loved to marry him.

 

Her father.

 

He groaned and put his head in his hands. This was going to be a long weekend.  


	6. Your Daughter's Hand

 

The Queen, Bail, Padme, Obi-Wan and Anakin were all waiting at the spaceport. It seemed that Prince Isolder was currently held up on board, communicating with the Queen Mother. His personal ship was enormous and Anakin couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.

 

 

_Jealousy is the shadow of greed._

 

_Just as this ship is only a shadow of the pompous, rich, Han Solo replacement._

 

 

Anakin straightened up and unconsciously gripped his lightsaber. The Force didn’t tell him there was any danger but his fatherly instincts were in full swing. Something told him that this prince wouldn’t be much better than the scoundrel Leia was currently seeing. But of course, he would have to choose between the lesser of two evils. And the prince was already in higher graces. Anakin knew _he_ wasn’t seducing his daughter and he certainly hadn’t beaten him in any Sabacc games.

 

The ship sprung to life and suddenly the main hatch opened. Anakin had to stop his own jaw from dropping. The man looked like a god! He had a well-defined body and long, luxurious blonde hair. Anakin’s eyes travelled to his wife. She too looked amazed by the god-like appearance of her daughter’s suitor.

 

Anakin grunted a little, suddenly feeling less than adequate. At least the great Anakin Skywalker could make Han feel stupid. This man hadn’t even spoken and he was already making Anakin feel like he was two feet tall, grossly overweight and a hundred years old- like a human Yoda.

 

He would definitely be doing some push-ups when he returned to their bedchamber. Amongst other activities that would convince his wife not to give another thought to the Pretty One. _Besides, he doesn’t even have a cool robotic arm like me_ , Anakin thought. _It can vibrate and everything._

 

“Welcome to Alderaan, Prince Isolder of Hapes,” spoke Bail as the entire party bowed before the Pretty One.

 

“Thank you,” replied the Prince in a thick Hapan accent. “It is a delight to meet you, Your Highnesses. And who may I address you three as?” he enquired with a touch of snobbery present in his voice.

 

 _That lightsaber is looking pretty good right now_ , Anakin thought.

 

“I am Chancellor Skywalker, Your Highness. This is my husband Anakin Skywalker and our dear friend, Jedi Master Kenobi. It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.”

 

Isolder nodded in understanding. “You are Leia’s parents,” he said bluntly, eyeing Anakin in the process. “Then it is a pleasure to meet you both as well. We will have some matters to discuss as soon as all formalities are underway. Hapes will be making your daughter an offer she will not be able to refuse,” the prince said smugly. Anakin couldn’t help himself.

 

“And what might this grand offer be, Your Highness?” he asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

 

Isolder smirked. “Me, of course.

 

Bail gestured for the group to walk towards the palace. The prince moved forward to the Queen, Obi-Wan and Bail while Padme and Anakin lingered behind.

 

“I don’t like him,” Anakin said bluntly, furrowing his brow as he grasped his lightsaber. Padme rolled her eyes and swatted his hand away.

 

“He’s very…confident. He’s rich. He’s extremely good looking. He has impeccable taste…”

 

“Alright _Mrs_. Skywalker, let’s not get a bantha worked up about it,” Anakin grumbled.

 

From her spot next to her husband, Padme sighed. “All I’m saying is that we should at least give him a chance. What he’s offering is priceless and could help solve a lot of problems. Sixty-three gifts, obviously including himself and all the Hapans want in return is a Queen Mother. Leia may very well take to Isolder. But then again, she might not. We can in no way influence her decision. Understand, Anakin?”

 

He nodded mutely.

 

A picture entered his mind. On one side of his beautiful daughter was the Pretty One, with his long, blonde hair. On that side was the image of thousands of Republican credits, mountainous worlds and a huge Hapan fleet.

 

Han Solo stood on the other side of Leia. All he had was the _Millennium Falcon_ , a deck of naked-ladies Sabacc cards and a big mouth. But strangely enough Anakin found himself being more impressed with the image of the laser-brained pirate than the laser-brained, hair-flicking Hapan monstrosity.

Could it possibly be that Anakin Skywalker was getting soft?

 

A beeping from within his robes disturbed him. Realising he was now left behind he turned and made his way back down to the docks. Before he had even answered, a familiar voice came over the commlink.

 

“Hope you haven’t missed me too much, old man. Chewie, Luke and I will be docking in at number ninety-six. Oh and bring some Alderaan wine on your way. We’re all getting kinda thirsty. Solo out.

 

As the familiar irritation began to creep up his shoulders, he realised, that he was definitely not getting soft. He would let Leia meet Isolder and make her own decisions and he would not interfere. Maybe.

 

But a nagging feeling told the great Anakin Skywalker that it might take the combined strength of him and his greatest nemesis—Han Solo—to put the Pretty One back in his place.

 

Ignoring Solo’s request for the ridiculously expensive wine, he put on his best welcoming face, although not much different from his get-out-of-my-sight face. Docking bay ninety-six was not far and he made it there just on time.

 

The _Millennium Falcon_ docked smoothly. Probing the ship with the Force, Anakin was glad to feel his son’s presence. He moved to Chewbacca who seemed very excited for some reason. He then went to probe Han. Han was…no, it couldn’t be. It just wasn’t _possible_.

 

Han Solo, the pirate, the scoundrel was actually _nervous_!

 

What in the name of Kessel did he have to be nervous about- the function? Pushing that thought aside, he felt another strange emotion from Solo. Amongst his nerves was a distinct sense of fear,of absolute dread and anticipation. Whatever it was, it was scaring the seven sithpits out of Han Solo.

 

Luke disembarked first and went to greet his father. Chewbacca followed and gave a hearty growl. For a moment, Anakin thought Han wouldn’t come out while he was still there. But sure enough, he sheepishly emerged.

 

“Glad you could finally make it,” Anakin remarked dryly.

 

Han nervously ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah, thanks Paps. But listen there’s something I gotta talk to you about…”

 

Anakin nudged him to continue walking towards the palace. “Leia’s not here yet, Solo. And no, I won’t give you permission to sleep in her room. Have some respect!” he shouted, half jokingly.

 

“For once, that’s not it,” he said dryly and stopped midway, causing Anakin to stop as well. Luke caught eyes with Han and knowingly led Chewbacca away.

 

“Come on Chewie, let’s get out of here before Mustafar erupts,” he muttered and they swiftly walked towards the palace.

 

Anakin looked at the younger man quizzically. He looked like he was about to choke on his own words. “Spit it out, Solo. Something the size of a bantha is obviously clouding your judgement. You haven’t insulted me once since you’ve landed!”

 

Han took a deep breath; it was likely to be his last.

 

“Anakin Skywalker, I want to formally ask you for your daughter’s hand in marriage.”

 

 

_Anakin Skywalker’s_ _**The Galactic Dictionary** _

 

_**Surprise** _ _: An unexpected event or action, to surprise- to inform someone of an event or to shock someone. To ask one’s father (whom dislikes you very much by the way) for one’s daughter’s hand in marriage only what seems like moments after Mr. Perfect (who has caught said father’s wife’s attention- never a good thing) has also expressed the same intentions. Surprise- the action of NOT dismembering and/or disembowelling said suitors for said daughter by said father. Especially when said father’s hand is gripping his lightsaber with such ferocity._

 


	7. The Prince and the Smuggler

“Can you repeat that please Solo, I could have sworn you just asked my permission to marry Leia,” Anakin asked steadily. It couldn’t be. Sithspit, could he be the unluckiest father in the history of the galaxy?

 

Han gritted his teeth. What was it about this request that sent people into such a confused state. He, the dashing and charming ex-pirate wanted to marry a galactic Senator and crowned Princess. It wasn’t that hard to believe.

 

He felt an urge to pull a blaster on himself and end the misery and gathered his thoughts. “Yes, Paps. I want to marry Leia. Soon. In fact, I might just ask her at this stupid celebration thing.”

 

“B-b-but that’s this weekend!” stammered Anakin, scrambling to find one of the prime insults he had used on Han in the past. He found none. Instead all he found was an alarming amount of dread in his stomach. This weekend was not looking good at all anymore.

 

Han looked at Anakin expectantly. He was increasingly getting nervous. For all the times he had wished Anakin would shut up, he was feeling kind of stupid. He would have given anything even for an insult or a punch at this point. Silence coming from the great Anakin Skywalker just wasn’t right.

 

“Come on old, man. Give me something here!” Han practically yelled; his annoyance apparent in his tone. Meanwhile, Anakin seemed to be off in his own world. What could he possibly say that would fix this entire situation?

 

An image of him kidnapping Leia and taking her to the safest planet in the Unknown Regions far, far away from her two potential suitors came to mind. That was the most favourable option at this point in time. Who did he want as his son-in-law?

 

The annoying, cocky, pirate smuggler whom his daughter had spent the better part of five years with? Or the handsome, rich, pretty-boy, rich, dashing and did he mention rich Prince Isolder?

 

As he was about to open his mouth to finally give Han a retort worthy of their constant verbal sparring, a loud and intrusive noise interrupted him from behind. “Excuse me, Master Skywalker. I do believe it is rude to not accompany royalty to specified meeting places, especially when it concerns something as important as the future of your stunning daughter…”

 

Han and Anakin turned simultaneously to come face to face with long, flowing blonde hair and a not-so-amused face of Prince Isolder.

 

“Future of _whose_ stunning daughter?” interrupted Han, eyeing the Prince. Anakin mentally slapped himself. This was not going to be good.

 

“Han Solo, I’d like you to meet _Prince_ Isolder of Hapes. He will be Leia’s honoured guest at tonight’s proceedings,” Anakin said, puffing out his chest slightly. The moment he was dreading was finally upon him. Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Master, pilot and most handsome man alive was actually a little scared. _May the Force have mercy on me._

 

“Yeah, yeah, nice to meet you and all that. And whose stunning daughter are you proposing to change the future of?” Han pressed, getting that annoyed look in his eyes that was usually reserved for Anakin and losing Sabacc games.

 

If Isolder was insulted by the bluntness of the shabby smuggler in front of him, he took no notice. He flashed a perfect white smile. “The daughter of the grand Skywalkers, of course. I take it you have yet to meet the stunning beauty, Mr. Solo?”

 

“Captain Solo,” Han replied through gritted teeth.

 

“Well, Captain Solo, I shall let you in on a little secret. Tonight Leia Skywalker-Organa is going to accept my marriage proposal and become the Queen of Hapes,” he said, pride and cockiness thick in his voice.

 

Steam could have been coming out of Han’s ears if his face was any indication. His face had become hardened and taken on an amusing shade of red. His hand clutched his blaster much in the same way Anakin had clutched his lightsaber.

 

To his credit, Han did not pull the weapon. For a moment, he simply stared at the Prince, like a nexu staring at a wounded bantha. “That’s very interesting,” he finally said. “Considering I’m the man who’s spent most of the weekend in Leia’s bed,”

 

Thousands of disturbing images ran through Anakin’s mind at that point. He had already seen too much. To have Han actually say those words in front of Anakin made him feel like getting his knuckles ready for another shot. However, they both seemed to have bigger problems at this point in time.

 

Han’s statement had no grand effect on Isolder. His facial expression turned a little more pensive than usual but then quickly returned to his smiling, somewhat sadistic manner. “That may be so, _Mr._ Solo. However, I assure you, the Skywalkers and Organas will be granting me permission to wed young Leia. Sixty-three gifts from the Hapan worlds will not have to compete with what I assume can only be worth a pocketful of credits and shabby looking pilot’s clothes. She may have been in your bed Mr. Solo, but rest assured, after tonight’s function, she will be in mine, practicing for an heir to the throne of Hapes.”

 

 

_Anakin Skywalker’s_ _**The Galactic Dictionary** _

 

_**Awkward:** _ _To feel unease at a situation. For example, standing between two young men (though much less handsome and certainly less toned and built and strong…) who both have openly declared their intentions to court and make smoochies (still refusing to call it anything else) with his daughter._

 

 

 _Maybe I should just leave them to kill each other_ , thought Anakin. _It would solve both my problems. Then I could lock Leia up in her room and she wouldn’t be making smoochies with anyone._

 

The tension in the air was so thick that someone could have cut it with a vibroblade. Clapping his hands together in an attempt at a friendly gesture, he smiled at the two men who were shooting daggers at each other.

 

“How about we all go up to the palace? The function won’t start for a few hours and maybe we can talk about his privately…”

 

Han snorted and Isolder simply glared. Anakin put on his best father-of-the-bride look and grasped his lightsaber. “Go,” he commanded. With a flash of his robes, the Prince turned on his heel and headed back towards the palace.

 

Instead of following Isolder’s lead, Han stayed, rigid and a look of annoyance plastered on his face.

 

“Going to stand there all day, Solo?” Anakin asked gruffly, rubbing his head due to the enormous headache that was coming on.

 

“Depends, Paps,” Han replied through his teeth. “When were you going to tell me that you’re planning on marrying Leia off to some pompous prince?”

 

_Well at least I’m not the only one who thinks he’s a pretty-boy…_

 

“I’m not marrying Leia off to anyone yet,” Anakin replied shortly. “At least Prince Isolder does not have manners resembling those of a bantha in heat!”

 

_A Jedi’s weapon is their Life_

 

_A Jedi’s weapon should not be used to dismember any integral part of offending future son-in-laws…however tempting it may be._

 


	8. I Give Thee Permission

 

“How did it go?” asked Padmé as she walked into their private quarters. Anakin was sitting on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands. She had seen this pose before and it was never a good sign.

 

“Do the words ‘complete and total disaster’ mean anything to you?” he responded, bringing himself to look at his wife. They were certainly no spring gundarks but she was still very beautiful. He had no idea what she still saw in him, but he always hoped it was because he was still very charming and attractive.

 

Padmé sighed and took a seat next to her husband. “I suspected as such. Prince Isolder came barging in on my meeting with the Organas and wouldn’t leave until we drew up a contract regarding the impending nuptials between him and my daughter. I can tell you I was not impressed.”

 

Anakin couldn’t help but grin. Usually he was the only one who was able to irritate Padmé to this extent. Like the time he hid all her left shoes so she wouldn’t be able to leave the apartment. He had paid dearly for that one. If Isolder had annoyed her, it was further proof that he wasn’t the prime candidate for being their son-in-law.

 

“I know it will be up to Leia to choose whether or not she wants to marry this…” _Oaf? Bantha? Nerf Herder?_ “Despicable male, but I can’t help secretly hoping she will turn down his offer,” she finished.

 

Perhaps now was the time to let his gorgeous wife in on a little secret. “Might not be an issue,” he said cryptically. She raised her eyebrow as she began to systematically remove all the ridiculous and overbearing Chancellor dressings. Anakin stood to help her escape but couldn’t help throwing in an appreciative look every now and then.

 

“Let’s just say that we may have that Isolder problem taken care of in a much more dramatic and entertaining way.”

 

“Oh no, Anakin. Please don’t go interfering in our daughter’s love life again. The last time it didn’t turn out so well, did it?”

 

He raised his hands in defence. “I didn’t say anything! In fact, I’ve been quite open minded about the whole matter. Mind you, Leia would probably kill us both if she found out we were planning weddings and contracts and giving permission for her to be married,” he pointed out.

 

_Wow, that came out quite smooth. A few more of these and not only will she have forgotten about this Isolder problem but she will have remembered what a kind, sensitive person, not to mention what a fabulous lover her husband is…_

 

Finally in some more comfortable and decent clothes, Padmé sat back down on the large bed. “We don’t have long before tonight’s celebration starts. We need to talk to her soon. Of course she won’t have to make the decision tonight but if Isolder’s expecting anything, she should be prepared.”

 

“Han asked my permission to marry Leia,” he blurted out. Padmé looked shocked for a moment but then regained her composure.

 

“Did you give it to him?” she asked curiously.

 

Anakin groaned. “Unfortunately I was a little busy trying to prevent another galactic war to erupt between big mouth and even bigger mouth down there,” he grumbled. “It’s not fair, how can I choose?”

 

Padmé sighed. “It’s not really up to you, is it Anakin? Leia will marry whomever she wishes. She’s told me she respects the Prince. She will always strive to do what is best for the people she serves. She will need to decide whether she will do what is best or follow her heart. She will not care which man you give your blessing to.”

 

“Why do you always have to be right?” Anakin asked. Padmé simply grinned.

 

“Because I’m a Skywalker.”

\--

A swift knock on the door snapped Leia out of her thoughts. “Enter,” she called out to whoever was at the door. They would have to be quick as she was just about to start getting ready for the welcoming dinner tonight.

 

The door opened and Prince Isolder stood in the doorway, holding a bunch of flowers. “For you,” he said sincerely. She smiled and accepted them graciously, watching as he flicked his blond hair.

 

“Thank you. To what do I owe this pleasure?” she asked, trying to hide her annoyance at the Prince interrupting her alone time.

 

“I wish to speak with you before tonight,” Isolder said slowly. “There is something important I would like to ask you…”

 

He was interrupted by the loud slamming of the door. They both turned around and Isolder’s face turned an amusing shade of red as he realized who caused the interruption.

 

“Han, what are you…?” Leia began.

 

Suddenly, Han stormed across the room and dipped Leia. Right in front of the Prince, he leant down and kissed her.

 

Han could practically hear the steam coming out of Isolder’s ears.

 

_Oh, I wish I had a holorecorder…_

 

Leia let herself enjoy the kiss before she began to question Han’s motives. She broke it off and eyed him suspiciously as he flashed a triumphant and somewhat cocky grin to Isolder.

 

Something odd was going on here and she knew it had something to do with her nerf herder of a boyfriend and the pompous prince.

 

_At least Dad’s not involved this time. Dealing with laser brain here is one thing, but with Prince I’m-The-Sexiest-Man-Alive as well would cause a reload in his brain._

 

As if on cue, Anakin appeared at the door. “Leia, your mother and I want to talk to you about…”

 

He stopped. Leia looked around the room. Suddenly, everyone’s eyes averted from her and towards each other.

 

She focused on her father first because honestly, if anybody was going to lay a bantha, it was Anakin.

 

“Solo…Isolder. Anybody care to explain why you two are both in my daughter’s private quarters?”

 

For a moment, Anakin wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer. Actually, anything aside from _‘I’m here to tell Leia I’m joining a monastery that promotes celibacy for life’_ would result in lightsabers activating. In fact, even that might cause a negative reaction. He just hoped it wasn’t anything resembling what that late night holonet channel broadcasted…not that he watched it or anything.

 

“I’ve come here to ask Leia to marry me,” Isolder said bluntly. Anakin could see the shock in Leia’s eyes and the anger in Han’s.

 

“Funny story there, Blondie. But why don’t you just take your fat, ugly, flowing blonde head out of our business and go back to your sixty-three worlds of sissy boys and leave my future wife alone!” Han retorted, poking a finger into Isolder’s chest.

 

And just to excite things even more, Anakin caught a glimpse of someone approaching. Within moments, Luke had also entered the room. “Hey guys, what’s going…”

 

“You!” Han screamed, pointing at Luke. “Tell pretty boy over here that you’ve given _me_ your permission to marry Leia and that the likes of _him_ aren’t welcome here!”

 

Anakin turned to glare at his only son. “You gave your permission for Leia to marry this old bantha?”

 

As Luke opened his mouth to answer his father, Leia stood in the middle of the room and yelled at the top of her lungs, “ENOUGH!”

 

Anakin winced as the full force of Leia’s voice hit the roof. All four men in the room stood in silence.

 

_Now they’ve gone and done it…_

“I want you to all get out, NOW.”


	9. The Plan

 

Nobody thought twice about getting out of Leia’s room as soon as possible. She had Padmé’s stubborn tone and Anakin’s loud and obnoxious way of dealing with things. Without as much as a sorry, all four men sheepishly left her room.

“She threw us out!” said Luke, looking at the now closed door.

“What did you expect?” snapped the Prince, eyeing Han. “I was in there to negotiate a marriage contract when this waste of space walked in!”

“You’d better watch your mouth!” Han retorted, moving towards the Prince. Luke immediately placed himself in between the two men.

“Now, now, let’s not do anything rash,” he reasoned, gesturing towards Han’s hand which was firmly planted on his blaster. “If both of you are dead, nobody will get Leia,”

The Prince straightened his clothing out. “Very well Solo. If this is how you would like to play the game, so be it. I shall see you tonight at the welcoming dinner. Try not to be too late, I wouldn’t want you to miss anything,” he snapped and stormed down the hallway. Anakin took a deep breath of relief.

“You really want Leia to marry that jerk?” Han asked; his voice suddenly serious. Luke looked at Anakin expectantly, even though he could probably guess his answer. But Anakin surprisingly did not lose his temper. He simply sighed.

“Solo, I do not want Leia to marry anyone. I want to send Leia up in space in a Republic cruiser and get her to orbit Coruscant for the rest of her life, if it meant no males would be able to get to her. However, this decision is out of my hands. It is up to Leia,”

“He’s right, Han,” Luke offered, placing a hand on his back. Han ignored Luke and looked Anakin straight in the eye.

“Would you choose me?” he asked, quite seriously. Anakin was taken aback. His relationship with Han was strained, but they did have some good times together. Sabacc games, drinking Obi-Wan’s secret stash of Corellian Whiskey (which to this day he says was never his) and flying on the _Millennium Falcon_.

But then again, they’ve had less friendly times too. That whole fiasco a while back which involved a rescue mission, not to mention catching them in the act of making smoochies a few days ago, couldn’t be ignored.

It came down to it- who did Anakin want as a son-in-law more: the overgrown excuse of a blonde gundark or the extremely annoying space pirate? There was only one answer.

“I approve of whoever makes Leia happy. And despite all those big, flashing, warning signs that say ‘Keep Solo away from Leia’, I’m afraid that seems to be you.”

Anakin grimaced thinking of the disgustingly emotional words coming out of his mouth that were directed at Solo. Big strong, manly men like him (okay, even Solo fell under that category) didn’t often give such words of kindness. Anakin Skywalker gave up the ridiculous holodrama mush after his first pitch to Padmé. He was sure glad Solo wasn’t around to hear that fodder about sand being course and Padmé being smooth. It would surely damage his tough Jedi reputation.

Instead of hurling an insult at him, Solo simply grinned. “That’s all I needed to hear. Now excuse me, Jedi Skywalker. I have some getting ready to do for tonight’s welcoming dinner. I won’t woo the lovely lady resembling a scruffy-looking nerf herder, will I?”

Luke raised his eyebrow slightly and Anakin shook his head. If anything, tonight was sure going to be a heck of a party.

 

Han’s quarters were thankfully in the furthest opposite direction to that of the Prince. Han liked to think it was because nobody wanted the two to accidentally meet in the hallways when in truth, it was the fact that the Prince was well…a Prince. He entered the room and saw that Chewie was out exploring the Alderaan Palace. Good. Chewie’s constant roars of disapproval were not needed right now.

Han wasn’t really going to get ready for the ball. He looked fine, positively gorgeous actually. He happened to know Leia secretly liked the scruffy look. It was sure better than flowing, blonde hair. No, this time was going to be used for some careful planning.

He began rummaging through his stuff, coming across a lot of useful elements (junk) won in Sabacc games although why they had been packed he had no idea. Finally he reached the bottom and felt for his secret weapon. A smile crossed his face. Oh yes, this plan would work well. There was just one more thing that needed to be done.

He picked up his commlink and connected to the quarters two over from his.

_Solo, you are a genius._

As the receiver picked up, Han straightened himself out. “Goldenrod, I need you to get your ass down here right now. There’s something I need you to do for me…”

 

Leia sighed as she paced her room. Her make-up was done, her hair was done and all she needed was to put on her gown. Her _white_ gown.

_And there I go again! I think I must be the laser brain here!_

Every few moments her mind would go back to that horrendous event that had taken place in this very room what felt like seconds before. She had two men fighting for her hand in marriage. Not one, but two. She couldn’t believe it. Most girls dreamed about this moment. Not Leia, though. She was a politician. She was too young to get married. She was too young to choose between doing what was right and what was needed.

A knock interrupted her thoughts. “Are you decent?” asked her father from the other side. Pulling her robe tighter, she opened the door herself.

Anakin looked handsome, dressed in his formal Jedi robes. He had even brushed his hair, though she suspected her mother could have had something to do with that. “Not ready?” he asked, eyeing her clothing choice.

She rolled her eyes. “Hardly ready for anything it seems these days. Take this afternoon for example. Here I was, thinking about what to wear tonight when the twin banthas came stampeding in here!”

Anakin truly felt sorry for his daughter. It was not easy being a single, galactic senator with such a famous family. He wished he’d had that sort of exposure at her age. It would have sent the ladies right to his doorstep at the temple. Then there was always the problem of Obi-Wan stealing them with his smooth moves.

Anakin cleared his throat. “What I came in here to say was that whatever…whomever you choose, it is okay with me.” There it was. Permission. Not like she needed it but he felt better saying it.

Leia raised her eyebrows. “Whoever?” she pressed, knowing it may very well anger her father but not caring.

Anakin cleared his throat. “Yes, Leia,” he said, pulling a painful expression. “Both of them are fine young…” _Scoundrels? Losers? Idiots?_ “men. Choose wisely.”

She squeezed his hand and then gestured for him to leave. Anakin felt a lump rise in his throat as he closed the door. There went his only opportunity to lock Leia away for good. Since that was no longer an option, Anakin decided it was time for Plan B.

_**Plan B:** _ _The next course of action. The decision that is to be implemented when ‘Plan A’ fails. Often the act of doing something drastic, such as siding with an enemy for the common good. In this instance, siding with pirates over princes. Shaggy hair over long, blonde hair. Millenium Falcon over Hapan Fleet. Plan B also entails being quite sneaky as to not alert the women of its existence, as it would annoy them. Prince included._

 


	10. Formal Dinners

Anakin stood alongside his wife and the royal family of Alderaan as the guests filed into the grand dining hall. It was only the welcoming dinner tonight but it was important nonetheless. Anakin found himself being impressed with the manners and etiquette of the elite of the galaxy. True, he should have been used to these things by now but several years as Padme’s boytoy hadn’t taught him a thing.

As he shook another scaly hand, he spied Obi-Wan in the corner, with a drink in his hand.

_Typical._

Frowning, he briefly wondered where Luke was. Luke and his willingness to help his father execute his brilliant plan was the whole point of the evening. That and finally telling the Pretty Pompous Prince where to stick it would be the aim of tonight Yes, this plan would clearly demonstrate just why Anakin Skywalker was the most brilliant man, Jedi, husband and father in the galaxy.

 _Brilliant should be my middle name_ , he mused. _Okay, so my middle name is Fergus but I’m sure in some foreign dialect it means brilliant or sexy._

As a dozen or more important and dignified guests including the smelly, hairy, scaly and just downright ugly filed into the room, Anakin was beginning to wonder where the jewel of the night, his daughter was. Hopefully Han hadn’t done anything incredibly stupid…which was very, very possible considering he was Han. If the Galactic Dictionary had Han Solo in there, incredibly stupid would be the explanation.

As that image amused Anakin, he felt someone elbow him in the ribs. Snapping back to the dark reality of Galactic Politics, he glared at the offender. “Pay attention, Anakin!” Padme hissed. “It is rude to drift off into your own world when there is company present!”

Anakin fidgeted. “Yeah well it’s rude to make me speak to boring bantha fodder when I could be doing more productive things!”

_Like setting fire to the Prince’s robes. Stealing the Prince’s shoes. Possibly cutting off the Prince’s wonderful blonde locks as he sleeps. Letting loose Gundarks in the Prince’s ship._

As if on cue, the Prince entered the room. There was an odd hush as everyone stared as the Holonet Channel 7’s Most Eligible Bachelor in the Galaxy sashayed into the room. His robes were grand and a few people, namely Anakin, would argue clashed horribly with that “crown of glory” called hair. Anakin tried to hold back a snicker as he imagined Gundarks pulling his hair and him squealing like a little girl.

“Good evening, Chancellor Skywalker. You look wonderful this evening,” the Prince said politely. Padme nodded and shook his hand, ignoring the immature death stare her husband was currently giving Isolder.

“Thank you very much, Your Highness. I’m sure my daughter will be along shortly,” she replied respectfully. Anakin didn’t take his eyes off the Prince as he gave Padme another appreciative look and continued down the line. The man really deserved a lightsaber to the head and if Han, Leia or Luke didn’t arrive soon he would be getting it within a matter of minutes. There was a list of things all men in the entire galaxy should **not** do in front of Anakin Skywalker.

_Anakin Skywalker’s Guide to the Galaxy_

_Staring appreciatively at the Chancellor in full view of her husband who has an evil looking robotic arm and a wicked blue lightsaber is a no-no. Particularly when aforementioned husband is a powerful Jedi and can read your mind. And finding out that you’re mentally undressing her and imagining her naked will most likely result in loss of a crucial body part. Not including arms or legs._

Thankfully, before Anakin could get even more bent on dismembering the Prince, Luke arrived at the doors. Smiling, he entered gracefully. He was wearing his best set of robes which were black as usual. Anakin really needed to teach his son the art of colouring one’s wardrobe. As he approached, Anakin could feel Luke’s discomfort through the Force.

“What’s the matter son?” he asked as he yanked Luke from the dignitary standing next to him. He shook his head.

“You know this ingenious plan of yours?”

Anakin nodded., feeling uneasy at the sarcasm in Luke’s voice clearly stating that not all plans of Anakin were ingenious. This was so disrespectful and wrong it wasn’t funny.

“Well…it may have backfired.” Luke waited for the fallout. But instead of the barrage of the galaxy’s most vulgar words he was rewarded with nothing but a stare.

“What happened?” he asked through gritted teeth. No plan of his went wrong. He chose to ignore the incident with Count Dooku where he lost an arm. It was easier to just blame Obi-Wan for that incident and besides…he looked good fighting with two sabers anyway.

Luke sighed. “Well you know the part where I was supposed to approach Han and tell him you had a plan to get rid of the Prince and that it was essential for them to come tonight and just trust you? Well that part backfired.”

Anakin raised his eyebrow. “How so?”

“Han apparently has his own plan to, and I quote ‘get rid of that woman-stealing, hair-brushing, make-up wearing, flamboyant clothes-wearing, mother’s boy with a death wish’ himself. After that the door slammed shut, on my foot I might add and I had to get ready to come here.”

Anakin was starting to get that familiar feeling in his stomach, the one that came when Han had done something incredibly foolish and stupid and completely ridiculous and now he was going to have to fix it.

The sound of someone clearing their throat snapped him back yet again from fantasy ‘destroys Leia’s suitors’ land. It was Padme. “I’m afraid the dinner is going to have to start without Leia. Dinner is being served and Breha and Bail are anxious to start talking with the new Chandrillan representative.”

Anakin nodded in agreement. Leia would be here soon enough and he was hungry. He took Padme’s hand and led her up to the main table. Looking at the name-cards as he went along, he quickly discovered he would be seated next to Obi-Wan. And not surprisingly, there was already a large bottle of Alderaan wine with a giant portion missing from it. Obi-Wan however was distinctly missing from his seat and Anakin immediately assumed he was probably chatting up the alien ladies to make up for those cold, lonely nights from the past few decades.

As the dinner progressed, Anakin was getting increasingly annoyed at Leia’s non-attendance and even more annoyed at Han’s obvious involvement in it. He flashed his son a look at what the adults called the “kids table”. To his surprise, instead of sitting there with a sullen look on his face, he was deeply involved in what seemed like a very amusing conversation with a stunning redhead. Wow, he hoped he used the line he’d taught him the other day, the one about the lightsaber. Ignoring the possibility that another one of his progeny was possibly finding romance, he scanned the room again. Probing the Force, he found Leia’s presence. Something was quite odd about it, however. Wherever she was, she wasn’t alone.

 _That dirty, rotten, no-good son of a gundark!_ Anakin thought. Instead of accompanying the guest of honour to dinner, Han Solo was corrupting her!

Just as Anakin was about to get up and physically drag the two of them by force of lightsaber, he noticed that the Prince had stood up.

“Attention distinguished guests!” the Prince said, flashing the room one of his Holonet Galactic toothpaste commercial smiles. It was apparent that the Prince intended to make a long winded and boring speech. Anakin was beginning to suspect he just liked to hear the sound of his own voice.

“Firstly I’d like to thank Your Highnesses…”

_Check One: Incorrect grammar._

“For their wonderful hospitality these evening…”

_Check Two: Sucking Up._

“..And also to you all for coming to our welcoming dinner. Tonight’s celebrations are just the beginning of this weekend here at Alderaan. Before we wrap up tonight’s events and seeing as our Guest of Honour, the wonderful and beautiful Leia Skywalker-Organa has yet to make our acquaintance, I shall like to give an informal announcement on our behalf.”

_Check Three: Long winded sentences designed only to hear one’s own voice. Wait a moment, announcement?_

Anakin shot his wife a look. She obviously had no clue to where this was heading either. He doubted she was as worried as he was at the present moment.

“I’d like you to be the first to know that Leia Skywalker-Organa has agreed to become my wife!”

_Surprise: to discover something you previously did not know beforehand in an abrupt and shocking manner. Finding out that either your daughter has either lost her mind entirely or that in fact, the Prince is a damn ugly liar who deserves to be thrown into a pit with a Rancor._


	11. And now, back with our hero

The welcoming dinner would begin in a few moments. Han had told Chewie to go on ahead without him. Chewie had made some smart-ass remark followed by an extremely unfunny Wookiee joke involving a human, a Wookiee and a droid walking into a cantina. Han had spent the better part of an hour grooming himself. His hair was now washed _and_ brushed. He had shaved and even put on that gods-awful cologne that Luke had bought him for his third 29th life day. He hoped Threepio had organized for what he was planning. If not, he would be pulling apart that droid limb by limb and auctioning him off at the ball. He snickered at the thought of Anakin’s face when he realized Han had done what he had longed to do since he built the droid many years ago.

Han realized he had stopped walking and took a deep breath. His heart was beating erratically. Was he, the great Han Solo, Captain of the _Millennium Falcon_ , Sabacc player extraordinaire _nervous_? He laughed off the thought and straightened out his ridiculous formal attire. Not that he would need it tonight, of course, but he was dressed to impress.

Han knocked on the door and heard Leia rustling around inside. He thought he heard a muffled “come in”. Smirking, he swung the door open only to find a half-naked Leia standing in front of the full length mirror. He took her form in appreciatively before he realized a large object was being hurled at his head.

“What do you think you are doing!” Leia screeched and tried to cover herself while edging towards the ‘fresher. “I said DON’T COME IN!”

Han winced as he rubbed the spot on his head where Leia had thrown the offending bedside chrono at him. She had quite an aim on her. “Princess, relax. It’s not like I haven’t seen it all before!”

He spied her evening gown on her bed. He picked it up and knocked on the ‘fresher door. “Princess, if you don’t want to be showing the entire population of Alderaan what you look like naked I suggest you put this on. Not that I’m complaining…”

A hand shot out through the door to grab the gown. He smirked as she practically yanked it out of his hand and slammed the door, just to make a point. “What do you want Han, besides wanting to act like a perverted scoundrel?” she asked through the door.

He fiddled around with the small box in his pocket. He took another deep breath.

_Think courage, Solo. It’s either you or Isolder the Galaxy’s Prettiest Gundark Loving Princess._

“I’m here to talk about what happened this afternoon,” he began slowly. Leia gave no response. “I know you were put on the spot because of…” _Nancy Prince? Bantha Boy?_ “Prince Isolder and I wanted to do this properly.”

He took out his “secret weapon”. It was his grandmother’s diamond wedding ring, the only thing he had been left when his parents had passed away. And now he was going to set things right the old fashioned way. He was going to get down on one knee, hold out the ring and ask Leia Skywalker-Organa to marry him.

He had Luke’s blessing. He had Anakin’s blessing. He was pretty sure Padmé wanted to throw the Prince off a cliff with her own two hands. Now all he needed was for Leia to hurry up and come out of the ‘fresher.She would be looking every bit of the Princess she was and say yes.

Leia finally opened the door and slowly walked out. Her midnight blue gown looked stunning. Han’s jaw nearly dropped. Well she certainly had the looking gorgeous thing down. Now it was just the saying yes part. He was nearly one hundred percent certain that she would not be able to resist him.

He grinned cheekily as he opened the box in front of her. “Leia, will you do me the honour of becoming the wife of a rogue space pirate?”

She stared at Han for a moment then snapped the box shut while it was still in his hand. “No,”

Han stood and just as he was about to envelop Leia in a Wookiee hug, his mind processed what had just happened. No. Had Leia just said _no_? Had Leia just DECLINED?

“Excuse me, I think being around royalty has somewhat damaged my precious hearing. Did you just say NO?” he demanded.

Leia defiantly looked into his eyes and poked him in the chest. “I just declined your offer of marriage, Han Solo.”

Had Mustafar just frozen over? Han pinched himself and yelped at the pain. Okay, so this wasn’t some sort of twisted nightmare. Leia was really in front of him saying no to marrying him, Han Solo.

“May I ask why?” he asked through gritted teeth. This was not turning out to be the evening he had imagined. In fact, according to his previous schedule they should have been “making smoochies” right about now in a fit of happiness. Being poked in the chest after being ungraciously rejected by a princess was _not_ how he had envisioned this going down.

At this point, some of the fire and spark left Leia’s eyes. Han looked at her for another moment in silence. The way her shoulders slumped, the way her eyes had glazed over, the way she had just sighed pointed to one thing. Oh no. It could not be possible. No, no, no.

“You’ve already said yes to Isolder,” he stated coldly. Leia looked up at him sadly.

“Yes, Han. He came by just before you did. I’m sorry Han. He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

Han was trying to get his head around this. He knew the Prince was serious about marrying Leia but he never really thought that Leia would seriously choose him. He thought that it would just be a formality; that she would politely decline. Then she would announce to the world that she was desperately in love with Han Solo and she intended to make him an honest man.

That clearly was not going to happen. He was going to have to think quickly. There was no way he was going to let Leia slip through his fingers. He had faced greater hurdles before. He had made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs and endured Anakin Skywalker finding ladies underwear in his bags. He would not be outdone by some pompous Prince of a bunch of planets that nobody cared about try and hoodwink him out of a wife! He would just have to tweak his plan a little.

“An offer you couldn’t refuse,” Han repeated as Leia nodded sadly.

“I’m so sorry Han. I was going to come and tell you before the welcoming dinner. Isolder was going to announce it sometime this weekend. This union is based purely on politics. You need to understand that.”

“Oh, I understand all right. So I’m going to take some political action of my own,” With that, he swept down and picked up Leia over his shoulder.

“Han, acting like a crazed alpha male is not going to help the situation,” Leia protested and struggled to get down. Han kicked the door open and made sure nobody was there.

“Han…put me down now!” Leia shouted and started struggling even harder against her ‘assailant’.

“Not likely, Princess. You’re a politician. You understand. In order to get them to listen to me, I have to make a large political statement. Kidnapping the Prince’s fiancée is exactly what I’m looking for!”

Leia felt faint. Kidnapping? Surely he was joking. “Very funny laser brain. I understand that you’re mad but this isn’t helping!” She began to kick. Han just laughed.

“Of course it is Princess. You are being kidnapped by a space pirate. We’ll talk about making offers once we get aboard the ship.”

Leia finally realized that Han had carried her all the way out to the dock where the _Millennium Falcon_ was. He was actually going to go through with it. So Leia did the only thing she could think of. She called for her father.

\--

Anakin couldn’t collect his thoughts over the thunderous applause that was filling the ballroom at that moment. Bail and Breha looked delighted, Obi-Wan looked drunk and Luke looked stunned. Anakin felt like turning to the dark side. Sith Lords weren’t held accountable for brutally murdering their daughter’s fiancées were they? He groaned. This was not turning out to be a good trip.

The Prince began to launch into some prepared speech about marrying Leia, making peace in the galaxy and Anakin swore he heard something about blonde heirs to the throne. He ignored his gag reflex.

And suddenly he felt a very distinct tremor in the Force. It was Leia. And she seemed to be frightened. His fatherly instincts kicked in as he immediately raced from the room, ignoring the protests from his wife. He felt himself be taken to the landing dock. As he arrived his lightsaber was up and ready. He was welcomed with the image of the _Millennium Falcon_ engaging its hyperdrive.

It was very clear to him that he had a problem. Han Solo had just kidnapped his daughter. Prince Isolder had just announced to Alderaan his intention to marry his daughter. Oh yes, Anakin had a big problem indeed.


	12. I'll Get You Han Solo, If It's the Last Thing I Doooooooooo

Isolder was pacing. “This isn’t possible,” Anakin sighed as he listened to the Prince whine yet again. He was really giving Luke a run for his credits.

“Quite obviously it _is_ possible, Your Highness,” Anakin snapped, rubbing his forehead. His first instinct was to jump into the nearest ship and chase after Leia and Han. This wasn’t the first time he had had to chase Han and Leia half way across the galaxy yet that definite feeling of rage was certainly coming back to him. However this time was distinctly different.

This time their sudden departure was having more of an effect on Prince Isolder than on himself. In fact, part of Anakin couldn’t help but feel a little glad that Han had managed to execute a plan to get Leia far, far away from Isolder. But on the other hand he had kidnapped his daughter, by force. The nerve and stupidity of Han Solo always seemed to amaze him.

The Prince was livid. They were now in the Queen’s office. Padmé was sitting at the desk, her head in her hands with Luke attempting to comfort her. Breha and Bail were ushering the guests out and deliberately avoiding any questions as to why the party had ended so abruptly.

“I am going to send out the entire Hapan fleet to find them. This is ridiculous. He can’t just kidnap the future Queen of Hapes!” the Prince practically shouted as he went for another lap around the office.

Anakin resisted the urge to roll his eyes then punch the Prince in the face. “We need to calm down for a moment, before we do anything. We aren’t going to be able to help Leia if you send out an entire Hapan fleet with no idea where to look,” Anakin said calmly, surprised at his own behaviour.

_Wow, this calm father routine isn’t too bad! Although the calm, sensitive new age father routine might get old the next time I want to beat Han at Sabacc._

“Calm down! How can you be calm when your daughter has been kidnapped by a disgusting, pirate maniac!” The Prince shouted, throwing his arms up in the air dramatically like people did on the Holofilms. “How am I to be perceived when the Holonet finds out that I let my fiancée be kidnapped? How is my Mother going to react when she realizes I have no Queen to bring home? I will be made to be a fool!”

_The Prince a fool? Had he looked in the mirror lately?_

“Yes and if you go charging out into the galaxy and come back empty-handed you’ll look even worse,” Luke added from his place next to his mother. “Han is not a maniac either, Your Highness. I’m not sure what’s happened but at least she’s going to be safe.”

The Prince snorted. “I would not trust that man as far as I could throw him.”

Anakin pictured the Prince’s girl-like arms trying to pick up Solo and throw him. The image resulted in Solo giving the Prince quite a beating.

“Has anyone considered Leia in all of this?” demanded Padmé, standing up to face both her husband and Isolder. “My daughter was forced to choose who she wished to marry today. She chose and now the other one has decided to take things into his own hands and has kidnapped her. How about how Leia is feeling? You should all be ashamed of yourselves!” she snapped, losing all Chancellor etiquette in favour of her maternal streak.

“And precisely why did Leia apparently choose you?” Anakin asked. The Prince turned around and looked directly into Anakin’s eyes.

“I made her an offer she could not refuse,” he said simply. Anakin felt that surge of fatherly dark side anger rise again. He gripped his lightsaber and fought the urge to start swinging it.

“Are you telling me you blackmailed my daughter into marrying you?” he asked threateningly. The Prince took a step back and for the first time, fear was in his eyes. “I-I most certainly did not. I simply explained to her the obvious benefits of being a Queen and she readily accepted,” Isolder turned towards Padmé. “You have taught your daughter well, Chancellor. She is quite shrewd when it comes to politics and knowing when to concede defeat to protect the people she cares for.”

What happened next shocked Anakin to his core. Padmé, his sweet, wonderful politician wife raised her hand and slapped the Prince hard across the face. Anakin resisted the urge to jump for joy and settled on letting his jaw drop instead. “If I find out you have mislead, threatened, hurt or blackmailed my daughter in any way, so help me I will have your entire royal family disowned and have Hapes thrown out of the Republic.” With that, she stormed out of the room. Anakin was close to following her and if it had been under better circumstances, he would have considering she was headed towards their very big and very _private_ quarters.

Yet here he was, trying to act like a mature and responsible adult, not to mention a peace-keeping Jedi. He could practically hear Yoda in his head, lecturing him about the Jedi being the guardians of justice and peace in the galaxy. Yoda was quite obviously not a parent. Yoda was quite obviously not here to execute his miniature little green Jedi moves so Anakin would have to sort this out like the grand Jedi Master he was.

“I suggest we all calm down and think for a moment,” said Luke, robbing Anakin of the chance to try out his own diplomatic negotiations.

_Diplomatic negotiations are the best option in any serious circumstance. If this however fails, aggressive negotiations are always the next best option. Take one mature, responsible and attractive Jedi, one pompous Prince, one bystander, a blue lighstaber and stir vigorously._

“I have already told you. I will be making arrangements for my fleet to go after them. Han has acted outside of any acceptable laws and my officers will be commanded to shoot to kill,”

If there was going to be any shooting of Han Solo it would only be through his blaster.

Anakin knew it was time to see just how strong of mind the Prince actually was. He waved his hand in front of Isolder.

“You will not dispatch the Hapan Fleet,”

He held his breath momentarily. Would the Prince be strong or weak of mind?

“I will not dispatch the Hapan Fleet,”

Anakin smiled. It appeared that Blondie was the submissive type. Most likely a combination of listening to his mother over and over again and too many night-time games of “pin the underpants on the tied-up Prince”.

“You wish to leave the search mission to the Jedi Council and let Luke and myself head the search party,”

It was just a formality of course. Anakin had no intention of asking for the Prince’s permission to do anything.

“I am going to leave the search mission to the Jedi Council and to you and Jedi Skywalker,” he repeated.

Anakin knew he should have left it there. The Force had already been used to his advantage many times during the evening and going any further would be a great misuse of the power he was given. But on the other hand, Prince Isolder was an absolute idiot. And nobody messed with a Skywalker.

“You will leave Leia Skywalker-Organa alone. You are not attracted to her. Your type is now tall, dark, handsome of the male variety…” Anakin was interrupted by Luke pushing him out of the way.

“We will be leaving as soon as possible, Your Highness. We will let you know as soon as we find them,” Luke said, nudging Anakin out the door. Why did he have to raise such a moral and diplomatic son? Oh right, that had to have been Padmé’s influence.

“Why did you do that son?” Anakin demanded as they left the slightly confused Prince in the office. Luke smirked as he began walking towards the docking bay.

“Because I had a feeling Han might have done something stupid. I had Threepio place a homing device on the Falcon as he prepared the ship for takeoff. As of two hours ago, Han Solo set a course for Corellia,”

Right, and when did Luke Skywalker become cunning, smart and able to plan ahead? That was obviously his influence, apart from the forward planning. One of the Skywalker family ships, the _Coruscant Wings_ was sitting at the docking bay.

It was time to go and clean up yet another of Han Solo’s messes. And after he found them, he was going to kill Han three times over. He could only hope Leia hadn’t done it already.

_Anakin Skywalker’s Killing Tally_

_Obi-Wan: 7 (including the time Obi-Wan left him drunk at the Happy Jedi)_

_Luke: 4_

_Leia: 15_

_Han Solo: 189,642_

_Prince Isolder: 700,000 (since yesterday)_


	13. Leia Skywalker-Organa, you are an IDIOT

Leia was far from impressed. In fact, as soon as she had the chance, she would cause grievous bodily harm to her captor. She might have been a diplomatic princess but kidnapping was just not something she could easily forgive.

She surveyed her room. She had been in here many, many times before. Usually it was not under such irritating circumstances. And more often than not, her captor would have been sharing the quarters with her. Times had changed and she was engaged to another man now. She wasn’t the type to engage in a hot, illicit love affair with her ex-lover after all. Was she?

She heard movement outside. She stood up defiantly and put her hands on her hips. The Look was in place and her vocal chords were ready to work to their full extent. The door opened. Leia tried to keep her glare up but the fact of the matter was Han Solo was looking positively delectable in his tight pilot pants at that very moment.

He at least had the common decency to look ashamed at his actions. “If you’re here to apologise it had better be something good…”

He interrupted her by grabbing her by the shoulders and kissing her. _Wow. Isold-who?_

“Han Solo doesn’t apologise, sweetheart,” he said, smiling cheekily. She fought the urge to kiss him again and do other unsavoury things and continued to glare. It was not funny. Okay, it was kind of sexy but this man had kidnapped her from her home on the eve of her announcement of her wedding to another man. Speaking of other men…

“Han, do you realise how much trouble you are going to be in?” Leia screeched as she attempted to push him out of the way. “Isolder is going to send out the entire Hapan fleet to look for me! Bail is probably having a heart attack and don’t even get me started on my father!”

Han snorted in response. “You leave Paps to me, Princess. I kind of have the feeling he’ll go with the lesser of two evils in this case. And besides, I could always put you up as booty for our next Sabacc game.”

Of all the laser-brained idiots in the galaxy, Leia had no idea how she had ended up with this one. But as the Force would have it, here she was, stuck on a ship, kidnapped, going Force-knew where, with what was possibly an entire fleet of the same blonde self-adoring kriffing morons like that she was currently engaged to, looking for her.

Leia looked at Han again. He had that cheeky grin on his face. His posture was tall and confident as he leant against the door. But there was something different about him. Usually the great Captain Solo had an untouchable aura that surrounded him. It was pride, it was confidence and it was pure animal magnetism. But this Han Solo was different. She remembered his words to her that came so long ago: _“What are you afraid of?”_

She looked directly into Han’s eyes and found what she had been looking for. Apart from the way his eyes flickered mischievously (which Leia suspected had something to do with the fact that he was mentally undressing her at that very moment, imagining her once again in that awful gold bikini. Hey, being a Force user had its perks), there was a distinct sense of desperation. The kidnapping was the final act of a desperate man trying to hold onto the woman he loved.

_Leia Skywalker-Organa, you are an IDIOT._

\---

This scene seemed awfully too familiar. Father and son sat side by side in the cockpit of the _Coruscant Wings_ as Artoo beeped away in the background. They were on the quickest route to Corellia, the supposed final destination for the kidnapper extraordinaire, Captain Han Solo.

_The Jedi existed only to restore and maintain peace in the galaxy._

_Han Solo existed purely for the purpose of irritating the stang out of Anakin Fergus Skywalker. Han Solo was the bane of his existence._

Oddly enough, despite all of the trouble Han had already caused, was causing and was sure to cause in the future, Anakin was nearly 99 sure that he would rather see Han’s face every other day than “tall, blonde and stupid”

Anakin looked at his son as he punched in a few navigation codes into the console. Thank the Force he only had one wayward child to deal with. Luke had thankfully behaved himself much more than Leia, even as a child. Luke was the one who listened to his parents. He did have the tendency to follow whatever devious plan Leia had concocted, such as the time they had disassembled Threepio and tried to sell him at the front of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.

Luke was yet to bring home any potential partners however. Whomever Luke chose would certainly not be a problem for Anakin. He would leave the women’s business up to Padmé to sort out. There was a time where Anakin _was_ genuinely worried about Luke’s lack of women. In fact, Anakin went red every time he recalled that conversation he stumbled into, which foolishly began with the question, “Son, do you like boys?”

Obi-Wan had never let him live that down.

Shaking those dreadful and humiliating thoughts from his mind, he concentrated on the task at hand.. Hunting down that sorry smuggler and giving him a good Jedi beating sans lightsaber. His fists were ready, his fatherly instincts were at their height and because of Han Solo he was missing out on his weekly “who’s your daddy?” game with his wife. It was on.

“Dad?” Luke’s voice interrupted Anakin’s protective father talk to himself. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure son. What is it?” Anakin asked distractedly, fiddling around with the navigation system. Any minute now they would be in orbit around Corellia and then it was landing and ass-kicking time.

“I think I’m in lo…” Luke began only to be hit with a ripple in the Force that could only have come from his sister. Something was happening down on Corellia and it whatever it was causing tidal waves through the Force. Luke only let himself enjoy Anakin’s priceless look of panic momentarily. This was not going to be pretty.


	14. Of Bad Haircuts, Pimps and Explosions

_Calmness. Serenity. Reason._

These were all the basis of living a good Jedi existence. However, these constant staples of the “Jedi Diet” often escaped Anakin Skywalker. In a battle situation, he was much more ready to go in lightsaber blazing than sit and talk things out diplomatically. Unfortunately, that fiery attitude often transferred from the battlefield into his parenting skills.

_Irritation. Annoyance. Pure, unadulterated, unsheltered, unbidden RAGE._

Upon landing at the Corellian spaceport, Anakin had stormed off the ship in what Luke would characterize as “in a huff”. Anakin’s cheeks were a suspicious red colour betraying his endeavour to appear nothing less than a calm, serene Jedi. Luke knew his father better than that.

“Han’s homeworld is…nice,” Luke commented, eyeing the main street that led from the spaceport into the Captial of the planet. Anakin snorted. “Nice? The whole damn planet is full of tight-pants wearing, Sabacc-playing, bad hair having Han Solo replicas!”

Luke was inclined to agree with his father. Everywhere he looked he saw the same strange fashion Han usually wore. After living with the Skywalkers, who by all means were the epitome of fashion and style, had obviously not had an effect on the rogue smuggler. Clearly it was easier to take the pirate out of Corellia rather than Corellia out of the pirate.

Anakin was relying on his sense of the Force to track his daughter. Since the barrage of Leia’s force signature waves on the ship, she had been unusually quiet. It was as if she were trying to hide the fact she was on the planet. Anakin found this fact even more irritating than the Force wave he had experience beforehand. He was here to rescue his poor defenceless daughter and she should have been doing anything in her power to escape her captor and run back towards her daddy…right? Anakin had the feeling something very melodramatic had occurred and if there was one thing Anakin couldn’t stand in his old age, it was melodrama.

Twenty minutes later, Anakin and Luke found themselves in the bustling inner city.

_Bustling? Try millions of ugly pirates, gamblers, smugglers and spice dealers all crammed into one city and all with bad haircuts._

As if on cue, a deranged man, dressed in dirty clothes with an eye-patch approached them. “Can I interest you in purchasing some fine quality spice? Straight from the Karzan V underground. Just came in yesterday…”

The old man didn’t have a chance to finish as Anakin has unceremoniously lifted him off the ground, using his old friend, the Force. “You really don’t want to sell me spice,” he said evenly. The old man looked scared out of his wits but calmly replied “I don’t really want to sell you spice.”

The one great thing about Corellia was that most of its inhabitants were definitely weak of mind which made for much easier Jedi mind tricks. While leaving the man hanging in mid-air, Anakin rummaged through his very _clean_ Jedi robes and pulled out a small holo. Turning it on, it proudly bore a picture of the Skywalker family…plus the extra baggage known as Han Solo. “Have you seen either of these two kids around?” he asked, pointing to the two ‘lovebirds’ in the obviously outdated picture.

The man, still mesmerized by Anakin’s fancy Jedi trick, took a few minutes to stare intently at the holo. Anakin began to get impatient and began to shake the man. “Well?” he demanded.

“Ah yes,” the man replied after a few long, tortuous minutes. “That’s Solo. Was sure surprised to see his ugly mug around here again!” the man replied with a laugh.

Anakin and Luke eyed each other suspiciously. If this old idiot had seen Han around here recently it would surely mean Leia would not be far behind. “What about the young girl?” Luke pressed. He was determined to find Leia and get off this planet and back home where someone special was waiting for him.

The old man took another look at the holo, ignoring the look of pure irritation Anakin was delivering. “By Kessel, that’s her! That’s the broad I saw him walking with just an hour ago!”

“BROAD?” Anakin bellowed. “That BROAD is my daughter! An hour ago? Where were they? What were they doing?” Instead of fearing for his life, like any other sane being would have at that point in time, the spice dealer simply continued to laugh.

“Solo, you old dog. Spice dealing is one thing, but becoming a pimp…”

Anakin thought his head would combust. Surely this idiot wasn’t suggesting what he THOUGHT he was suggesting? Nobody could be THAT stupid on Corellia…could they?

This time Anakin decided to use a hands-on approach. Physically pulling the once-hanging man to the ground he put his hand clamped around his shoulder. “Think very carefully old man, before your extremities end up on the other side of your planet,” Anakin hissed.

Luke stood on the other side of the man and tried to put on his most menacing face. “Yeah,” he contributed. Suddenly, the man had an epiphany. “Yes, yes. I know now where I saw them. They were over at the old Chapel. Come to think of it, Solo had scrubbed up quite nicely. And that gorgeous broad he was with was wearing the most dazzling white dress…”

Nothing could have prepared Luke for the massive Force shock he felt at that moment. His father was mad. Very, very, very mad.

And precisely at that moment, Luke felt the Force urging him to look behind him. Surely enough, as both he and his father spun around, the image of Han Solo holding Leia in the ‘walking-across-the-threshold’ position assaulted their eyes.

“Oh look, there they are!” the man shouted.

_The Galaxy According to Anakin Skywalker_

_Son-in-laws: When deciding which Coruscant Bachelor of the Year to marry your only daughter to, several factors have to be considered. Attractiveness, wealth and integrity are all important elements. However, elopement will often result in severe heart conditions for the Father of the Bride and possibly cause the exploding of aforementioned father’s head and/or entire body._


	15. Unpredictably Predictable

There had to be a simple explanation for this. Perhaps Leia had a sore leg and Han was simply making her life easier for her? No, that didn’t sound like the Han Solo he knew. In the brief few seconds before Han and Leia had noticed their presence, he could feel a wonderful sense of calm around them. It had reminded him of the calm he had felt the day he married Padmé. And with that sickening realization, he realized that not even Anakin Skywalker, Jedi, Father and Lover extraordinaire would be able to overturn the decision they had just made.

Several thoughts assaulted Anakin’s mind at once:

Leia’s White Dress ( _Why was it that women could shop quicker than he could change his underpants?)_

Han’s black tuxedo _(Had Han been saving that in the Millennium Falcon for the day he would kidnap his daughter and marry her?)_

The ridiculously large ring on Leia’s hand _(How could Han afford it? More like who did he steal it from?)_

Luke finally took mercy on his father and broke the silence. “Leia?”

Finally the sickening “cutesy” giggling came to a halt. Both guilty parties froze momentarily and Han wordlessly let Leia slide to the ground, where she stumbled on her dainty little wedding shoes. Anakin didn’t feel the need to say anything. He was almost positive the look on his face would have sufficiently indicated his distaste at their current predicament.

“Daddy…”

Leia hadn’t called him Daddy since she was twelve and had a nightmare that a Rancoor had eaten Luke. While it melted his heart to finally hear that name again, he remained stoic. Turning towards his son, Anakin said forcefully, “Luke you will take our ship back to Alderaan. I think the newlyweds here would actually enjoy a reality check on their glorious trip back to ‘face the music’.” Luke knew better than to argue with his father.

 _Good luck_ , he silently sent through the Force and made his way back to the spaceport. Anakin turned around and glared one last time at both Han and Leia, who at least had the decency to look both embarrassed and ashamed. It was going to be an interesting trip back to Alderaan.

“You,” he said pointing to Leia and then “ And YOU!” he exclaimed pointing to Han. “We have a lot to discuss. You will go and find the _Millennium Falcon_. You will set it to autopilot. There will be no talking, no thinking, no mentioning, no discussing, no suggesting, no murmuring, no ANYTHING until we have sufficiently entered into Hyperspace.” _So no-one can hear you both screaming…_

\--

Thankfully both Han and Leia had been too scared to disobey his orders. They had all silently boarded the _Millennium Falcon_ and Han had obligingly set it to autopilot. Anakin had given them time to go and change out of their wedding clothes and now it was time to face the proverbial music and face the Solos.

Anakin paced furiously as he waited for them. Oh how he wished Padmé were here with him now! She would use those handy maternal instincts and stop him from saying something unbelievably foolish as he was most certain to. Why, oh WHY had the Force blessed him with such a rebellious daughter? Why could she not just do the job she was supposed to do, dress the way he wanted her to dress and marry the stupid blonde prince he wanted her to marry? Well the prince the galaxy wanted her marry at least. Anakin was quite content for Leia to join a nunnery, although she had not made that possible now that she had permanently attached herself to a rogue space pirate. Anakin briefly wondered if an annulment was possible on Alderaan. If not, a divorce could happen on Coruscant.

Anakin’s internal rant was interrupted as Han and Leia, now changed into more acceptable non-Wedding like apparel, entered the room holding hands. Both walked in maintaining eye contact with Anakin the whole time. It was then Anakin realised they were not coming in here to face the wrath of the unwilling ‘father of the bride’. They were here to tell him in no uncertain terms to take his yelling and screaming and place it strategically in a place where no twin suns of Tatooine would ever see sunshine. As irritating as having to travel half way across the galaxy to ‘rescue’ his one and only daughter who was clearly in no need of rescuing was, Anakin, for the first time in his life, was going to admit defeat.

His daughter loved the scoundrel. Leia was now officially all grown up and Anakin was the father of the bride.

_The Force have mercy on us all._

“Dad, Han and I are now married,” Leia said evenly, the fire in her eyes not betraying her calm and steady Senator demeanour.

“Yeah Paps, and if you don’t particularly like that idea, no amount of ranting, raving, threatening, or leaving booby traps all over my ship is going to change it. Leia made her choice. It’s not that Prince Isoldope. It’s me.” Han said, a touch of smugness in his voice.

Anakin stared at them for a moment longer. He knew they were expecting him to blow up like a volcano, ala Mustafar. In those previous few moments before their arrival, Anakin knew he had made his peace. But what a better way to show his daughter and her new husband that Anakin Skywalker, Jedi and Father extraordinaire was nothing if not always unpredictable.

Breaking into a smile, he brought both very shocked newlyweds into a bear hug.

“Congratulations!”

The look on their faces was prize enough to keep Anakin entertained long enough until they reached Alderaan. Han quickly recovered and shook his father-in-law’s hand. “Knew you’d come around Paps. Hanging out with Prince Pompous was obviously enough to swing you my way!”

Anakin simply raised his eyebrow in response. “As happy as I am for you both, and really, nothing pleases me more than seeing my little girl elope after being kidnapped, your problems are just beginning. In case you needed reminding, there’s a whole planet panicking about Leia’s whereabouts and it will be up to the two of you to face Prince Isolder, not to mention the Vice-Chancellor herself and explain with a smile on your faces that you are now in fact, Han and Leia Skywalker-Organa-Solo.”

And as amusing as Han’s face was the moment he gave his blessing to their marriage, the look on his face realising the crowd of people that would be out for his blood on Alderaan was much more enjoyable. Though Anakin wasn’t sure who he feared more- the Prince who certainly would launch the Hapan Fleet upon his arrival, or his mother-in-law who had missed her only daughter’s wedding.

All that Anakin knew was he was going to enjoy this. Immensely.

_Taking joy in another’s humiliation, embarrassment and utter fear was not part of the Jedi Code. That had never stopped Anakin from taking Han’s money in Sabacc and betting Obi-Wan to parade around in Padmé’s shoes before and it certainly would not stop him today._


	16. Where Leia Makes her Father Proud

Anakin had made himself scarce on the final leg of the journey back to Alderaan. He figured he had done enough damage to the happy couple and what was waiting for them when they arrived back was going to be much worse than anything he could torture them with. The Holo-press would undoubtedly have gotten hold of the information of Leia’s “kidnapping” by now. Anakin himself, once a stunning Poster Boy for the Jedi, now thought gladly of handing that honour over to his new son-in-law. He could just imagine it now- Han Solo, Holo-Stud of the Year, millions of holophotographers and reporters snapping his picture as he angrily picked up his blaster and started randomly shooting them, screaming _“Nobody messes with space pirates.”_

He had volunteered to man the cockpit and placed the ship onto manual control. Flying the _Falcon_ was a completely new experience. It didn’t handle as well as any of the Skywalker ships, mostly due to the fact Han was nowhere near as good as a mechanic as he was. However, it was nice to get back to piloting—it was nearly as good as meditating in the Jedi temple. Plus, Anakin would occasionally manoeuvre the ship doing loops and found the banging sounds and subsequent yelling of its owner to be entertaining.

Anakin thought back to his life just a few days ago. It had been simple—he and Padmé had been having a great time on Coruscant with both their children away enjoying their own lives. And then Bail had dropped the proverbial bomb on the family. Fast forward a few days and Anakin had nearly had a coronary, nearly lost his daughter in Corellia and was now officially a father-in-law. The weekend was not even over. As he saw the familiar blue and white outline of Alderaan he took a deep breath. Upon entering the atmosphere a voice crackled over the communications system.

“ _Millennium Falcon_ , this is Alderaan Base One,” spoke an unidentified Alderaanian lackey with a suspicious Hapan accent. “Please submit your entrance code and name your passengers and cargo.”Anakin held back a grin. Base One was only used for high priority entrances. They obviously thought Han Solo was flying the ship and undoubtedly, numerous security officers were awaiting their landing.

“Base One, this is Anakin Skywalker. My entrance code is 00001,” _Sleeping with the Chancellor sure paid off_ , “My passengers include myself, Han Solo and Leia Skywalker-Organa.”

Anakin actually smiled as he could feel a communal panic rise in the Base One station. There was little hesitation as the lackey allowed the ship to land. The fun was about to begin.

\--

Han and Leia held hands as Anakin lowered the gangway. As predicted, several security officers stood to attention, both from Alderaan and the Hapan fleet. As soon as they had exited the ship, a group led by the illustrious Prince himself stormed into the room, their collective anger and irritation making the Force around them glow. Anakin nearly felt giddy at the fact that for once, extreme explosive anger was neither caused by nor directed at him. The Prince, followed by Luke, Padmé, Bail and Breha stormed into the room.

Upon catching sight of her mother, Leia dropped her husband’s hand and raced towards her. Padmé grabbed her daughter and held her close. “Leia! I’m so glad you’re alright!” Within seconds, Isolder had snatched Leia away from her mother.

“Milady, are you unharmed?” he demanded, tightening his grip on her arm.

“Prince Isolder, let me go this instant,” Leia barked at him, twisting out of his grip. Anakin narrowed his eyes at Isolder. Knowing when to back off, Isolder instead turned his attentions towards his nemesis: Han Solo.

“You!” he screamed, pointing at Han. At his command, two officers moved forward to grab Han.

“Isolder, get your goons away from me and let’s settle this man to man. Afraid, pretty boy?” Han taunted as Anakin moved towards his family.

_Ways to Entertain Anakin Skywalker_

_Fart jokes, a drunk Obi-Wan Kenobi, Sabacc, late-night scrambled holo-channels, Mace Windu’s shiny head being used as a drum, and watching two grown men (himself not included) fight like five year olds._

Anakin only hoped there would be some hair-pulling.

“You kidnapped my wife, Solo! Explain to me why I should not simply arrest you and throw you into a cell for the rest of your pathetic life?”

Now equally as angry as Isolder, Han forcefully broke out of the officers’ grip and stormed up to Isolder, poking him in the chest. “First of all, Your Extreme HIGHNESSNESS, she is not and never will be YOUR wife! Secondly I could wipe the floor with you in seconds and leave you to become Wookiee shampoo! Thirdly she does not love you!”

Isolder laughed and Anakin could have sworn there was a maniacal tone. He would have made an interesting Dark Lord of the Sith. Anakin snorted as he tried to think of a specialised dark side Force power of Darth Princess, _Force-hair brushing_? Eyes went on him as he accidentally interrupted said argument.

“Oh sorry. Please continue,”

“Love?” the Prince scoffed. “This has nothing to do with love! Leia WILL be my wife and I will be able to rule Hapes and all systems relying on the Hapan home worlds!”

Anakin could feel Leia’s anger through the Force now. It was never a wise idea to anger a Skywalker and Prince Isolder was going to learn that lesson the hard way, it would seem.

“The only throne you will ever ascend, Captain Solo, is that of the ‘fresher unit sitting on your bucket of bolts ship.”

“Gentlemen,” interrupted Padmé. “This is hardly the time or the place for such a discussion to be taking place,” she attempted to reason. It seemed however, neither man was willing to listen to the Vice-Chancellor of the Republic as their bickering continued.

“Listen Isolder, why don’t you just get back into your monstrosity of a ship, take your useless lackeys and that suspicious smell and get the hell off my wife’s planet!”

Anakin winced as Han’s slip-up was noticed by Isolder.

“Your WHAT?”

Stubbornly, Leia stood next to her husband and faced the gorgeous, six-foot tall, blonde, god-like Prince and lifted her left hand to broadcast a shining ring on her wedding finger.

“Han did not kidnap me,” she said evenly. “Han and I eloped.”

The proverbial poodoo had hit the cooling fan.


	17. The Revelation

Despite the silence in the room, Anakin was sure he spied the beginnings of a smile on his wife’s face. Smiling himself he put his arm around her. He could also feel Luke’s amusement from behind him as he placed an arm on his mother’s free shoulder.

“This is absurd!” the Prince exclaimed looking at Bail and Breha. “You promised me her hand in marriage!”

Ever the politician, Bail stepped forward and attempted to placate the distraught Prince. “Prince Isolder, our only bargain was to present the option to our adopted daughter. It is clear that she has declined...your generous offer.”

And there is was. The Prince turned back to the newlyweds and just as he was about to let his childish anger get the better of him, and punch the scoundrel right in the face, Leia’s more Jedi-like side suddenly took priority, sending the Prince flying across the room. Landing straight on his posterior, Leia simply walked up to him and bowed.

“Thank you for your company at this celebratory weekend, Prince Isolder of Hapes. Unfortunately, our dealings have come to a close and with all due-respect, please see yourself off our planet immediately. My husband and I have a honeymoon to attend to.”

Leia then grabbed Han’s hand and triumphantly stormed out of the room.

\--

“Did you know about this?” Padmé demanded as they returned to their quarters. Anakin shrugged as he pulled off his boots and let himself sprawl onto the bed.

“I found them after they’d done the deed,” Anakin said, allowing his eyes to rest for a moment, before realising what he’d said. “Gotten married, I mean,” he quickly amended. He had had enough visuals over his lifetime to scare him from going down _that_ particular road again.

“And you simply allowed your daughter to get married by some strange Holy Man in Corellia of all places,” Padmé began to rant. “What is wrong with you? Who are you and what have you done with my husband?”

Anakin chuckled. Yes, his own actions had even surprised him. Why was he so calm? He didn’t even have any Dark Side thoughts towards his new son-in-law. He had fought internally over whether or not to decapitate Prince Isolder over the debacle at Base One only hours ago, but thankfully his good Jedi Master side had won out.

“Padmé, if you remember, not too long ago, two people hired an extremely suspicious looking Holy Man to marry them very much _illegally_ at a Lake Retreat in Naboo. That turned out alright didn’t it? No-one got decapitated, and the union did bear some very interesting and misbehaving offspring,” Anakin said bringing his wife down onto the bed with him. He had missed her and all this worrying about Leia was interrupting his “who’s your daddy” time with his wife.

“Anakin she’s my only daughter. I wanted to be there when she finally married the man of her dreams.”

“Man of her nightmares, more like it,” Anakin snickered, prompting Padmé to roll her eyes in reply.

“Seriously Anakin. She’s my baby girl and I missed out on her wedding day. Nothing will ever replace that.”

Just as Anakin was about to comfort his wife the only way he knew how, a knock at the door forced him to stop his artificial hand from vibrating. Knowing that it was his daughter, Anakin smiled and let his wife answer the door.

“Mother,” Leia addressed Padmé as she walked into the room. “Father.”

“Leia, sweetheart, please sit down.” Padmé said as she ushered her newlywed daughter into the room. Leia gratefully sat down facing her parents.

“Han regrets he couldn’t come up with me, but he Luke and Chewie are busy celebrating on the _Falcon_ ,” she said genuinely, a smile coming up on her face as she recalled the reason for their celebrations. “But there was something I—well we—wanted to ask you.”

“What is it?” Anakin asked, hoping it wasn’t another desperate cry to help her. Anakin had travelled the galaxy quite enough for one weekend.

“Well since our marriage was rushed, Han and I were thinking, well hoping, that we could have a proper wedding. Apart from every holoreporter on Coruscant being there, Han and I really wanted a wedding where you both could be there.”

Anakin felt his heart soar. As devastated as Padmé was about missing their little girl’s wedding, now that he thought about it, busting up an elopement was not the way he wanted to be involved in Leia’s wedding.

Anakin had never heard Padmé squeal before in his entire life—and was surely never to again. But at that moment she did and enveloped her daughter in a motherly embrace.

Clearly Anakin was getting mushy in his old age as he fought fatherly tears coming to his eyes. If Obi-Wan caught him sobbing like a little girl like he did after Anakin had come home from the temple after being pushed over by Kit Fisto in his first year at the temple, it would only ever be at this moment.

“Consider it done,” he said and joined in on the family hug.

Leia was happy, Padmé was happy and he was happy. And now that Solo was finally to become part of the family, perhaps his constant urges to relieve Solo of his unnecessary appendages, such as his head, would finally disappear in time.

And with that, the moment of truth had finally arrived. Anakin Skywalker _liked_ Han Solo.

_Revelations according to Anakin Skywalker_

_A revelation only occurs when a great turning point or a crescendo is reached regarding a certain decision or situation. Perhaps like the time Anakin decided not to reveal his discovery that Obi-Wan Kenobi was certainly an alcoholic of sorts, or when he discovered a brand-new use for artificial limbs on his honeymoon or even when he realised his dear, sweet mother had given him the middle name of Fergus. The revelation that Anakin Skywalker did not wish to inflict grievous bodily harm onto his new son-in-law proved that while Anakin was the world’s best pilot, Jedi, lover and fighter, but he was the world’s best father as well._


	18. The Wedding of the Century

Anakin adjusted his Jedi tunic. He looked at himself in the mirror and admired the stunning looking man in the mirror. Even though he had as daughter old enough to be a wife and politician, he still felt young at heart and even looked like the handsome Jedi he once was.

Tucking a few stray blonde strands behind his ear, he took a deep breath. Today was the day. The weekend had begun as a tribute dinner to his daughter for solving a trade dispute. The weekend would now end as the sun set on the mountains of Alderaan with a full-scale wedding. Convenience of most of the dignitaries already being planet-side helped the women of the Skywalker family plan the wedding of the century in less than twenty-four hours. The obligatory Holo-reporters had been invited as not to cause an uproar back on Coruscant. Many Senators including Mon Mothma had just arrived for the ceremony to begin. Prominent Jedi, including Mace Windu and even Yoda had turned up to the wedding, on Obi-Wan’s request. Anakin couldn’t deny the brilliance of the idea.

The very same suspicious looking Holy Man who had married Anakin and Padmé had somehow been called in, most likely by the pull of the office of the Chancellor. In short, the event would go perfectly. He hoped.

He made his way from his quarters down to where Han, Luke and Chewbacca were. He didn’t bother knocking on the door and he stormed in, facing the trio. Luke turned towards Anakin with a panicked look on his face. “Dad, please talk some sense into Han. He is getting cold feet!”

_Cold feet? On his wedding day? Was the guy a walking cliché?_

“Han?” Anakin said forcefully. A little _too_ forcefully perhaps. This was no time for semantics, there was a wedding and the groom was expected to be there.

“Paps...I don’t think I can do this,” Han said, fear etching his scoundrel features. Avoiding the urge to somehow remove his arms from his sockets, Anakin opted for the more serene Jedi way.

“Han, think about this. The whole galaxy, not to mention Leia is waiting for a groom to appear and a wedding to happen. It would be...unwise of you to abandon them, abandon her at this time,” he said as calmly as possible.

_And if you don’t, I will not be very happy. In fact, I may have to use my lightsaber._

“Besides Han...you are already married.”

With the realisation that he was being entirely ridiculous, Han visibly calmed. Anakin smiled to himself. Another crisis successfully averted.

\--

“Do you Leia Skywalker-Organa take Han Solo to be your husband, in all legal rights according to the Republic?” droned the Holy Man, oblivious to the thousands of people and holocameras in the grand ballroom of the Alderaan Royal Palace.

“I Leia Skywalker-Organa, take Han Solo to be my husband,” she replied, her beating heart betraying her calm Senatorial exterior. Anakin could feel her nervousness through the Force. He could also feel the love emanating from the two as they exchanged their vows. He was truly happy for them both. He spied his wife standing beside Leia, her eyes threatening to tear up in front of the Holo-cameras. Luke stood next to him and Anakin felt his brotherly pride building up. He stepped forward and Leia picked up the ring that sat in his hand and placed it onto Han’s finger.

“Do you Han Solo, take Leia Skywalker-Organa to be your wife, in all legal rights according to the Republic?”

“Yes, yes I do,” Han hurriedly replied forgetting all semblance of nobility. Leia coughed and Han remembered his place, waving off his slip-up. “Yes I Han Solo, take Leia Skywalker-Organa to be my wife.”

“Does anyone here object to this union on personal grounds?” asked the Holy Man.

Suddenly Anakin felt all eyes on him. Raising his eyebrow he did a quick scan of the room and confirmed that yes, everybody was looking at him. He wanted to say a smart remark but the death glare currently being delivered by Padmé forced him to keep his mouth shut.

“No? Very well then. It is done. I present to the Republic, Mr. and Senator Solo.”

The entire room erupted in applause and Leia and Han kissed. Anakin hugged his daughter and shook his son-in-law’s hand in front of the Holo-cameras. “Congratulations,” he said as Leia planted a kiss on his cheek.

“Thank you, Daddy,” Leia whispered.

“Yeah Paps. Couldn’t have done it without you!” Han said, eyeing off his new father-in-law, expecting him to decapitate him somehow. Anakin let out a laugh.

“You just concentrate on keeping my daughter happy and there will be no cause for me to decapitate you. But be warned, my lightsaber will be ready at a moment’s notice.”

Han laughed but Anakin could feel that he still feared him.

Good.

\--

The reception was in full swing. The liquor was flowing, people of all species and background were talking and politics had been left outside. Han was currently dancing with Padmé and Leia was dancing with Bail.

Anakin passed Obi-Wan, at the bar, _where else_ , and simply nodded to him. He spied Luke in the corner and went to talk to his son. While the debacle with Leia had happened, Anakin felt guilty for ignoring his son this weekend. It wasn’t every day Luke was away from Jedi business much like himself so he should have paid more attention to him.

“Luke!” Anakin called out. But instead of just finding Luke in the corner, Anakin came across his son linking arms with a stunning redhead. Dressed in a figure-hugging green dress, her eyes sparkled as they turned around to face Anakin.

“Dad,” Luke greeted him warmly. “I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Mara Jade.”

_Oh boy._


End file.
